The Sun In Space

By: Al Beckett
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:27:00
Print this article | Tell a friend | For publisher | Social Bookmarking
Rating:
 

The Sun is the star of our solar system. The Earth and all the other matter in the solar system including the other planets, comets, asteroids and dust all orbit the Sun which in turn makes up more than 99% of the solar system’s mass. Earth receives energy from the Sun in the form of sunlight, and it responsible for supporting life on this planet, the weather and the climate.

Hydrogen makes up around 74% of the Sun’s mass, and 25% is helium, the rest of the Sun’s mass is made up of heavier elements. The Sun rests in the centre of the solar system and is located around 25000 to 28000 light-years from the centre of the Milky Way, taking nearly 250 million years to complete one lap of the galaxy.

The Sun itself has a magnetic field which changes from year-to-year and reverses direction every 11 years. Sunspots of the surface of the Sun and solar wind are just some of the effects known as solar activity. On Earth, the effects of solar activity can disrupt radio communications and electronic power.

Currently the Sun has undergone study to find out the hows and whys of solar flares, sunspot activity, the magnetic interaction between the different parts of the Sun and the origin of something that is known as solar wind.

The Sun’s current age is estimated to be about 4 and a half billion years old, it is what’s known as a main sequence star, another way of looking at it is that the Sun is in fact “middle aged”. At the moment nuclear fusion is occurring in the Sun’s core where hydrogen is being fused into helium. 4 million tonnes of matter is converted into energy every second, producing particle called neutrinos and solar radiation.

At about 10 billion years old, the Sun will enter its Red Giant phase, its outer layers will expand while the core contracts and heats up as it has eaten away at its hydrogen supply. The Sun will continue to grow until it has engulfed Mercury and Venus, possibly pushing the orbit of the Earth out and just boiling away our water and atmosphere.

After its Red Giant phase, the Sun will throw out its outer layers, forming a planetary nebula, the only object left after this is the core, which is extremely hot, but begins to slowly cool and fade away into nothing over many billions of years.

For more information about the Solar System visit: http://aboutthenineplanets.blogspot.com/

Article source: Expert Articles

Most Recent Articles in Science category

  • Hydrogen As a Fuel Source - By: Levi Quinn
    From water to air, there are a number of ways to energize your car. Alternatives to petroleum are a hot topic today. The growing concern for the environment is steadily increasing. It's an important issue that many people want to feel personally connected to. Hydrogen as a fuel source is not an entirely new idea. But science is taking a closer look at the impact that using hydrogen could have on both the environment and the economy. The best solutions are the ones that have more benefits than drawbacks.
  • MRI and Ultrasound: Two Vital Branches of Radiology - By: R Govindan
    Radiology was initially the branch of medical imaging that made use of x-rays on large flat sheets of photographic films for diagnosis. Modern day radiology is no longer confined to the practice of x-rays and now encompasses other methods of diagnostic imaging such as Computed Tomography (CT), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Ultrasound.
  • Processes Involved In Blavatsky's Writings and its effects - By: Edi Bilimoria
    Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (HPB) demonstrated the Siddhis (psychic-spiritual faculties) of clairvoyance, clairaudience, and the powers of projection, precipitation and being en rapport. These were all used in her writings on Occult science and Meta Physics which may be categorized into seven kinds of processes. We outline them below but it is emphasized that none of the above processes are miracles or supernatural
  • Biotech Development - By: Marcia Henin
    The development of Biotechnology and the affect it has in detecting Toxicity levels in the Human body.
  • Nanotechnology - Revolution in the Field of Medicine - By: Marcia Henin
    How science has learned to use Nanotechnology for bettering the process of Drug development.
  • Nanotechnology - Development in Water-Based Technology - By: Marcia Henin
    What is Nanotechnology and how does it applies in the science world - In this article, we will review some of the uses of Nanotechnology and its connection to the solubilization process.
  • The Z-Boson Mass and its Formula as Multiple Proofs in One Bowl of Yummy Pudding - By: Sean Sheeter
    A demonstration of the mathematical, theoretical and, especially, empirical connotations of the phrase "Pudding Proof" in the context of a highly exacting physical model. In particular, a formula is given deriving the mass of the Z-boson from two heavy quarks and and Higgs field. Remarkably, the precise correlation with the known value of the Z-mass is thus empirically proof positive of these far less directly measurable masses, which is further supported by arithmetic and theoretic construct.
  • The Theory, Significance and Precise Calculation of Gluino Mass - By: Sean Sheeter
    A preview of the most significant predictable particle cascades at Cern's LH-Collider in the coming years. Describes how a precise gluino mass of 6.388355 TeV relates to the super-symmetric Higgs mechanism and decays to squarks and other 'sparticles as a prerequisite to creation of 'dark mass,' as well as the unsolved puzzle of material baryon creation. Which also goes on to shows why giving three dimensionless calculations for the gluino mass are central to the e-course "241-Mumbers."
  • Derivation of the Pure Precise Fine-Structure Number and as a Ratio of Two Inexact Metric Constants - By: Sean Sheeter
    A history of a definitive answer to #1 'millennium question' of Strings 2000 in regard to whether all fundamental parameters can be determined in a dimensionless manner. Focus's on a 'pure' calculation of the fine-structure constant from a unified 'monolithic' system that allows precise equations for the full spectrum of fundamental particle masses from Higgs/SUSY to quarks, neutrinos and dark matter. With an update on controversies of determining the fine-structure from metric measures and a few other related issues.
  • Proof of the Exact Up and Down Quark Masses from the Pion Mass-Differential - By: Sean Sheeter
    A discussion of the equivalence of the mass differential between the charged and neutral pion as a function the mass difference between the down and up quark. Given the unprecedented mass value of the down quark = 7.763258 MeV, the up quark mass is calculable from the even more exacting d-u mass differential = 4.593453 MeV, where the experimental pion mass difference = 4.5936 plusmn.0005 MeV.