The Sun, our resident star of the solar system, provides energy needed by life on earth. Most of this energy is brought to earth through electromagnetic radiation. The energy output of the sun varies constantly within a narrow range with some periodic variations on a scale of years, the 11 year sun-spot cycle is one of them. More than just a passive, ball of hot hydrogen and helium, the sun is a complex object with violent processes visible in its outer shell. Akin to 'weather' as we know it, the fluid motions on the sun represent a special kind of "weather" with storms that frequently end with ejection of charged particles (Coronal Mass Ejection, or CME for short) that travel through space. These particles, when they arrive at earth, interact with the atmosphere and the magnetic field of the earth, and give rise to the Aurora.
An image of the aurora taken from the Space Shuttle.
Click on the image above to see current views of the Sun
from the SOHO spacecraft at different wavelengths!
Here are links that provide more information about the Sun:
- Weather on the Sun
- Space Weather - A good summary of different processes associated with the Sun
- Coronagraph Movie - A Coronal Mass Ejection
- Weather on the Sun - Prominences and Coronal Mass Ejection
- Pulse of the Sun's Dynamo - Fluid Motions in Sun's Interior
- Lesson Plans - For various grade levels that discuss Solar Activity and Space Weather
- Seeing through the Sun - What is happening on the other side of the sun before it rotates into view!
- Probing the Sun Earth Connection
- Views of the Aurora (Real-Time!) - From the program Windows to the Universe, at University of Michigan
For more information on the Solar System and other planets, visit the following sites:
- The Sun and The Planets - Imaged by SOHO on May 5, 2000
- The Nine Planets - By W. Arnett
- Views of the Solar System - By Calvin Hamilton
- Virtual Solar System - By National Geographic
- Science
and Astronomy News - From space.com
- Planetary Photojournal - From NASA
