Exploring the Sun

Life on Earth depends on the heat and energy we receive from the Sun. But that’s not the only way that the Sun affects life on Earth. The activity on the surface of the Sun affects us in many ways. Let’s first explore what is happening in the Sun!

What’s up at the Sun?

The Sun is made up of a huge amount of gases. Hydrogen makes up 92.1% of these gases and 7.8% of the Sun’s mass is helium. There are also other gases and metals such as iron, nickel, oxygen, silicon, sulphur, magnesium, carbon, neon, calcium, and chromium that make up the rest of the Sun’s mass.

The hydrogen in the core of the Sun is going through a process called nuclear fusion. In this process lighter elements (hydrogen items in this case) fuse together due to pressure (such as gravity) and make up a new element (helium in this case). The Sun is using up hydrogen and making helium through this nuclear fusion process for billions of years. An enormous amount of energy is released when hydrogen nuclei are combined into one helium nucleus. This energy reaches us on Earth in the form of heat and light.

The Sun’s composition is not homogenous, rather it is divided into various layers. The core of the Sun is the only place where nuclear fusion reactions take place. The sun’s other layers are heated from the nuclear energy created in the core of the Sun. Likewise, there are other activities happening on various layers of the Sun.

How do the events at the Sun impact Earth?

Among other activities, the Sun produces a continuous flow of charged particles, called the solar wind, in all directions. This wave of charged particles slows down as it travels through space, but it still reaches us at Earth.

Nicky Fox, the division director for heliophysics at NASA headquarters, explains that solar wind affects Earth magnetosphere like this: “As the wind flows toward Earth, it carries with it the Sun’s magnetic field. It moves very fast, then smacks right into Earth’s magnetic field. The blow causes a shock to our magnetic protection, which can result in turbulence.”

The solar wind affects Earth in many ways, for example, it may disrupt communications, navigation systems, and satellites. Solar wind can also cause power outages. One such power outage was experienced by Canadians in 1989. It’s not all bad, though, the beautiful lights of the Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis are also caused by the interaction of solar winds with Earth’s atmosphere.

Watch this video to know more about solar wind’s impact on Earth:

https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ess05.sci.ess.eiu.solarwind/solar-winds-effect-on-earth/

How to study the Sun?

It is not safe to land or even go close to the Sun because it emits tremendous amounts of heat and radiation. That’s why scientists use innovative technology to study the Sun.

To study the Sun up close, NASA launched Parker Solar Probe that has now become the closest-ever human-made object to the Sun! On October 29, 2018, it went as close as 26.55 million miles to the Sun’s surface.

According to an article published by Forbes, “The Parker Solar Probe is set to continually make and break the record for the next few years, ending with a final close encounter of just 3.83 million miles from the Sun’s surface in 2024.”

You can study the Sun too!

People have been studying the sun for centuries, even before they had the cool technologies that scientists use today. The early scientists used a tool called a Camera Obscura that let them study an image of the sun safely.

Using the materials included in the Out of the Box Outdoor Science Kit (including the box itself), you can create your very own Camera Obscura (also called a pinhole camera) and amaze your friends and parents!