The
Morning Star
Ever
felt the burning in eyes while looking upwards? The bright Sun always amaze us
in all the seasons.
The
heart of our solar system, a yellow dwarf is a ball of gases. It is a nearly
perfect sphere consisting of hot plasma. The morning star is the main source of energy for the earth. It has
diameter about 1.39 million kilometers which is 109 times that of Earth. The
sun is such huge that it has its mass of about 330,000 times that of Earth while it is 99.86% of
the total mass of the Solar System.
The
Sun is burning now for more than 4.5 billion years providing heat and light to
other planets. It has a group of gasses which has a majority of hydrogen
consisting of approximate 73% and helium of approx. 25%. The remaining is of
other heavier elements, including oxygen, neon, carbon and iron. The
Sun's power is about 386 billion billion mega Watts which is produced by
nuclear fusion reactions. As it is immensely huge, it has immense gravity
to hold the gases together. Besides these gases, its gravity is also used to
hold all the planets in the orbit. It generates a magnetic field via
a dynamo process. It is carried out in the solar system by the solar wind.
It is a gigantic nuclear reactor.
The
structure of the Sun has different layers:
·
Core – This is the
innermost region
·
Radiative
zone –In
this layer energy transfer occurs by means of radiation
·
Tachocline – This is the
boundary region between the radiative and convective zones
·
Convective
zone: Place
where convection occurs
·
Photosphere – This is the
deepest part of the Sun which we observe with visible light
·
Atmosphere – It is a
gaseous surrounding the Sun.
The
outer layers of the Sun exhibit differential rotation. At the equator the
surface rotates once every 25.4 days while near the poles it's as much as 36
days. Wondering why is it like this? This differential behavior is because the
Sun is not a solid body like the Earth. Also, there is an interaction between
the Sun and Earth. No wonder we feel the seasons, ocean currents, weather,
climate, radiation belts!
Ketki Kardile
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