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Cosmic rays
- Cosmic rays are actually particles from space that travel across the universe. They started out as atoms that had their outer layers stripped away and are now just nuclei. They move extremely fast—nearly the speed of light. Trillions upon trillions of cosmic rays hit the Earth every day.
news.uchicago.edu/explainer/what-are-cosmic-rays
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From our vantage point on Earth, the Sun may appear like an unchanging source of light and heat in the sky. But the Sun is a dynamic star, constantly changing and sending energy out into space. The science of studying the Sun and its influence throughout the solar system is called heliophysics.
Apr 11, 2022 · Key Concepts and Summary. The Sun, our star, has several layers beneath the visible surface: the core, radiative zone, and convective zone. These, in turn, are surrounded by a number of layers that make up the solar atmosphere.
- The Photosphere
- The Chromosphere
- The Corona
- Another Solar Feature: The Solar Wind
Since the Sun is made up of hot gas, there isn't really a "surface" to it. Instead, as you move from space toward the Sun's core, the gas gets denser and denser. The photosphere represents the depth at which we can see no deeper toward the core of the Sun. It's a little like watching someone walk into fog on a dreary morning - for a while they rema...
The chromosphere is the second layer of the Sun's atmosphere, and extends from the photosphere about 2,000 kilometers out. The density of gas in the chromosphere decreases rapidly as you move away from the photosphere. The chromosphere is essentially transparent to most visible radiation, so that light emitted by the photosphere just passes right t...
The corona is the outermost region of the Sun's atmosphere. It extends for millions of miles into space above the photosphere. Like the chromosphere, usually we can not see it because of the brightness of the photosphere. However, during a total solar eclipse, the corona shines like a crown around the Sun. Even though the density of the corona is v...
The solar wind is nothing more than a stream of charged particles flowing outward from the Sun with an average velocity of about 400 km/sec. It is a natural consequence of the Sun being so hot – the corona gas has too much energy to be gravitationally bound to the Sun. Updated: February 2014
One of the most remarkable discoveries about the Sun’s atmosphere is that it produces a stream of charged particles (mainly protons and electrons) that we call the solar wind. These particles flow outward from the Sun into the solar system at a speed of about 400 kilometers per second (almost 1 million miles per hour)!
Feb 3, 2024 · The four layers of the Sun are the core, radiative zone, convective zone, and atmosphere. The Sun is a colossal nuclear reactor at the heart of our solar system. Our favorite star is about 109 times the diameter of Earth and over 330,000 times its mass.
Sep 15, 2018 · Particles of light called photons carry this energy through a spherical shell called the radiative zone to the top layer of the solar interior, the convection zone. There, hot plasmas rise...
Oct 11, 2024 · But sometimes a big stream of these particles reaches Earth and interacts with the gases at the outer edge of our atmosphere. This causes streams of light in the sky, called auroras. The Sun’s Neighbors. In our solar system, the closest planet to the Sun is Mercury. Our Sun’s closest star neighbor is called Proxima Centauri.
