The Sun
The Sun is a great big ball of gas which is made up of 92.1% of hydrogen and 7.8% of helium. This is held together by its own gravity. As it is a ball of gas, it is not a solid like the moon or a piece of cement. The Sun is approximately 150 million kilometres away from the Earth and you could fit around 1 million earths inside of it. Here is a simple way to show how big the sun is. If the Sun was the size of a regular door, Earth would be the size of a five cent coin.
The Sun is a great big ball of gas which is made up of 92.1% of hydrogen and 7.8% of helium. This is held together by its own gravity. As it is a ball of gas, it is not a solid like the moon or a piece of cement. The Sun is approximately 150 million kilometres away from the Earth and you could fit around 1 million earths inside of it. Here is a simple way to show how big the sun is. If the Sun was the size of a regular door, Earth would be the size of a five cent coin.
Solar Flares
Solar flares are events caused by the sudden release of magnetic energy which has been built up in the solar atmosphere (atmosphere of the sun). As this energy is being released from the Sun, many particles such as electrons, protons and heavy nuclei are heated, fused and accelerated into the solar atmosphere and into space. The amount of solar flares tallies with the eleven year cycle of the Sun. When the cycle is at a low, very few solar flares are detected. More solar flares are detected as the Sun's cycle is at a high. Unless you have a really good telescope, you cannot see solar flares with the naked eye for two reasons. 1, The sun is too far away to see and 2, if you try, you will go blind so don't be crazy. Solar Wind is the same as Solar Flares, only the energy released are softer and make aurorae (Northern Lights and Aurora Australis, picture below)
Solar flares are events caused by the sudden release of magnetic energy which has been built up in the solar atmosphere (atmosphere of the sun). As this energy is being released from the Sun, many particles such as electrons, protons and heavy nuclei are heated, fused and accelerated into the solar atmosphere and into space. The amount of solar flares tallies with the eleven year cycle of the Sun. When the cycle is at a low, very few solar flares are detected. More solar flares are detected as the Sun's cycle is at a high. Unless you have a really good telescope, you cannot see solar flares with the naked eye for two reasons. 1, The sun is too far away to see and 2, if you try, you will go blind so don't be crazy. Solar Wind is the same as Solar Flares, only the energy released are softer and make aurorae (Northern Lights and Aurora Australis, picture below)
Sunspots
Sunspots are dark regions on the surface of the sun where the temperature is lower. Sunspots that are large have diameters of 50 000km, large enough to make them visible with your own eyes but it would be pretty difficult. A sunspots temperature is around 4500 K which is cool compared to the rest of the sun by about 1500 K. They can either be on the sun for a period ranging from a couple of hours to a couple of months and are carried around the sun due to its rotation. (Discovered by the famous Gallileo Galilei). Every year, the amount of sunspots increase and decrease in no pattern, with some years having more than 150 sunspots and some years having less than 10 sunspots. Below is a graph of the average amount of sunspots per year from 1920 to 2010 which I made.
Sunspots are dark regions on the surface of the sun where the temperature is lower. Sunspots that are large have diameters of 50 000km, large enough to make them visible with your own eyes but it would be pretty difficult. A sunspots temperature is around 4500 K which is cool compared to the rest of the sun by about 1500 K. They can either be on the sun for a period ranging from a couple of hours to a couple of months and are carried around the sun due to its rotation. (Discovered by the famous Gallileo Galilei). Every year, the amount of sunspots increase and decrease in no pattern, with some years having more than 150 sunspots and some years having less than 10 sunspots. Below is a graph of the average amount of sunspots per year from 1920 to 2010 which I made.