7/14/2023 0 Comments Corona photosphere chromosphere![]() Their sizes vary over a wide range, with a few having been measured to be 50,000 km in diameter. ![]() A given sunspot can have a lifetime ranging from a few hours to a few months. ![]() Sunspots are regions with temperatures about 1500 K cooler than the photosphere, making them appear darker than their surroundings. Sunspots are temporary "blemishes" that appear on the Sun they are darker than the surrounding regions and arise from intense magnetic activity. In addition, the photosphere is where sunspots form. Most of the Sun's radiation escapes from the photosphere and is detected as sunlight that we observe here on Earth. When we speak of the size of the Sun, we usually mean the size of the region surrounded by the photosphere. The Sun's atmosphere changes from transparent to opaque over just a few hundred kilometers, so the photosphere is about 500 kilometers thick. It's a little like watching someone walk into fog on a dreary morning - for a while they remain visible, but once they get deep enough into the fog, they disappear, and you can't see any deeper into the fog. The photosphere represents the depth at which we can see no deeper toward the core of the Sun. Instead, as you move from space toward the Sun's core, the gas gets denser and denser. Since the Sun is made up of hot gas, there isn't really a "surface" to it. The three parts of the atmosphere, from the surface of the Sun outward are the photosphere, chromosphere, and corona. Learn more about other parts of the Sun from the NASA's Solar System Exploration Divisionĭiagram showing the different parts of the Sun.These regions have substantially different properties from each other, with regions of gradual transition between them. The parts of the Sun that we can observe and measure directly are contained in the Sun's atmosphere: the photosphere, chromosphere and corona. On Earth, hydrogen barely makes the top 10 list of common elements, and helium is extremely rare. Compare that to Earth, where the most common elements are oxygen, magnesium, silicon, and iron. ![]() The Sun contains about 92% hydrogen and 8% helium, with just a tiny bit of the other common elements we find on Earth. The Sun contains the same basic elements that we find on Earth, but in vastly different quantities than what we see around us. One of the most powerful solar outbursts ever recorded occurred during this time period. Send us feedback about these examples.The Sun as viewed by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) in ultraviolet light from October 17 through November 5, 2003. These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chromosphere.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. 2012 The telescope, which captured these first images of the Sun’s chromosphere, is operated by the National Solar Observatory. Veronique Greenwood, Discover Magazine, 22 Feb. 2012 Given the lower pressures in the chromosphere, these melting points would be appreciably lower inside the sun. 2021 The situation in the sun’s chromosphere would be orders of magnitude more difficult. 2022 Mysteriously, the corona is much hotter than the photosphere and chromosphere layers immediately below it. 2014 The telescope captured several new pictures of the Sun’s surface back in August, with the fiery chromosphere the main focus of them all. Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 12 Dec. 2017 Many of these structures are visible in the chromosphere and corona, the outermost layers of the Sun's atmosphere. 2021 When viewed during a total solar eclipse, the red rim of the chromosphere is just visible to the naked eye. Recent Examples on the Web Rising within the chromosphere, the relative force of the superheated plasma lessens quickly, but the magnetic fields stay relatively strong.
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