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Parker Solar Probe Mission (NASA Goddard)

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Physical Realm
Universe Astronomical Instrument
Galaxy Milky Way, Andromeda
Planetary System Star, Brown Dwarf, Planet, Moon

Solar System Sun
Terrestrial Planet Mercury, Venus, Earth (Moon), Mars
Asteroid Belt Ceres, Vesta
Jovian Planet Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Trans-Neptunian Object
Kuiper Belt Pluto, Haumea, Makemake
Scattered Disc Eris, Sedna, Planet X
Oort Cloud Etc. Scholz’s Star
Small Body Comet, Centaur, Asteroid

Posts

Touch the Sun (12/6/2019) - Remember how Icarus wanted to touch the Sun, but met his demise instead? Well, scientists at NASA wanted to touch the Sun too, but unlike Icarus, they succeeded! Better yet, they are beginning to share what they learned by doing it! Before we get into all of that, let’s go back and start at the … Continue reading Touch the Sun
Get Lost in Space! (9/14/2018) - Way back in August, in anticipation of the start of a new school year, I set out to update the pages on this site related to space. Those pages tend to be popular among the teachers and students who use Cosma, and I happen to enjoy updating them, too. It sounded like a short, fun … Continue reading Get Lost in Space!
Space Art & Junk (1/30/2018) - In certain circles it is not uncommon to trip across the debate “Is graffiti art?” You can also find scads about it online if you are so inclined (Google). However, the debate doesn’t come up all that often in the context of conversations about satellites or space… until now. Earlier this month a company named … Continue reading Space Art & Junk
Umbraphiles (8/20/2017) - umbraphile : One who loves eclipses, often travelling to see them. — Wiktionary Yes, this is that obligatory post about “The Solar Eclipse” (NASA, Wikipedia). Of course, there had to be one — eclipses really are just too cool to ignore. You’ve already been bombarded with explanations of the science and history of eclipses, but … Continue reading Umbraphiles
Auroras (7/17/2017) - There was a lot of talk about the potential of seeing Aurora Borealis (a.k.a. the Northern Lights) much further south than usual on Sunday night, but sadly, that didn’t pan out as predicted. The Northern Lights were a letdown in New England (Dialynn Dwyer, Boston.com) For anyone who is bummed about not seeing them, has … Continue reading Auroras

Resources

These are organized by a classification scheme developed exclusively for Cosma. More…

General

Portal

Our Sun & Solar System Internet Resources (Library of Congress)
Living With a Star Program (NASA)
Solar System Exploration, The Sun, Our Star (NASA.Gov)
Sun Portal (Wikipedia)

Dictionary

Sun : (1) the luminous celestial body around which the earth and other planets revolve, from which they receive heat and light, which is composed mainly of hydrogen and helium, and which has a mean distance from earth of about 93,000,000 miles (150,000,000 kilometers), a linear diameter of 864,000 miles (1,390,000 kilometers), and a mass 332,000 times greater than earth (2) a celestial body like the Sun — Webster

OneLook, Free Dictionary, Wiktionary, Urban Dictionary

Thesaurus

Roget’s II (Thesaurus.com), Merriam-Webster Thesaurus, Visuwords

Encyclopedia

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, with internal convective motion that generates a magnetic field via a dynamo process. It is by far the most important source of energy for life on Earth. Its diameter is about 109 times that of Earth, and its mass is about 330,000 times that of Earth, accounting for about 99.86% of the total mass of the Solar System. About three quarters of the Sun’s mass consists of hydrogen (~73%); the rest is mostly helium (~25%), with much smaller quantities of heavier elements, including oxygen, carbon, neon, and iron.

The Sun is a G-type main-sequence star (G2V) based on its spectral class. As such, it is informally referred to as a yellow dwarf. It formed approximately 4.6 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of matter within a region of a large molecular cloud. Most of this matter gathered in the center, whereas the rest flattened into an orbiting disk that became the Solar System. The central mass became so hot and dense that it eventually initiated nuclear fusion in its core. It is thought that almost all stars form by this process.

The Sun is roughly middle-aged; it has not changed dramatically for more than four billion years, and will remain fairly stable for more than another five billion years. After hydrogen fusion in its core has diminished to the point at which it is no longer in hydrostatic equilibrium, the core of the Sun will experience a marked increase in density and temperature while its outer layers expand to eventually become a red giant. It is calculated that the Sun will become sufficiently large to engulf the current orbits of Mercury and Venus, and render Earth uninhabitable. — Wikipedia

Encyclopædia Britannica

Introduction

Sun in Depth (NASA)

Search

WolframAlpha

Science

Heliophysics means “physics of the Sun” (the prefix “helio”, from Attic Greek hḗlios, means Sun), and appears to have been used only in that sense until quite recently. In the early times, heliophysics was concerned principally with the superficial layers of the star, and was synonymous with what is now more commonly called “solar physics”. Usage was extended explicitly in 1981 to its literal meaning, denoting the physics of the entire Sun: from center to corona, and has been used in that sense since. — Wikipedia

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NASA Heliophysics (NASA)
Science of Heliophysics (HELIO Heliophysics Integrated Observatory)
Solar Physics (Marshall Space Flight Center)
Solar Physics Glossary (NASA)

Space Weather Prediction Center (NOAA.gov)
Space Weather.com
Space Weather (Wolfram Alpha)
Solar Storms (Wikipedia)

Future

What will happen when our sun dies? (University of Manchester, Phys.org)
The sun will become a planetary nebula after it dies, astronomers predict (Brooks Hays, UPI)

Preservation

Participation

Education

Crash Course Kids Space Science: The Sun and Its Influence on Earth (YouTube Channel)

Why does the sun burn us? (Space Place, NASA)
The Sun (Ask an Astronomer, Cornell University)
Sun (Cosmos4Kids)

Course

Crash Course Astronomy (YouTube)

OER Commons: Open Educational Resources

Community

News

Space Weather Live, News about the Sun (NASA), Science Daily, NPR Archives

Book

ISBNdb

Government

Space Weather Prediction Center (NOAA)

Document

USA.gov

Expression

Fun

Arts

The top 10 suns in art (The Guardian)

Poem

OEDILF: The Omnificent English Dictionary In Limerick Form

Music

Song Lyrics

More…

Sun News -- ScienceDaily News about the Sun. Science articles on Sunspots and the Sun's Corona; evidence the Sun has a companion star; images from the far side of the Sun and more.

Scientists model Saturn's interior, explain...
on May 5, 2021 at 5:05 pm
New simulations offer an intriguing look into Saturn's interior, suggesting that a thick layer of helium rain influences the planet's magnetic field.
Geology helps astronomers find habitable planets
on May 4, 2021 at 3:25 pm
Astronomers have identified more than 4,000, and counting, confirmed exoplanets -- planets orbiting stars other than the sun -- but only a fraction have the potential to sustain life. Now, new research is using the geology of early planet formation to help identify those that may be capable of supporting life.
Meteorite amino acids derived from substrates...
on April 29, 2021 at 1:02 pm
Scientists have recreated the reaction by which carbon isotopes made their way into different organic compounds, challenging the notion that organic compounds, such as amino acids, were formed by isotopically enriched substrates. Their discovery suggests that the building blocks of life in meteorites were derived from widely available substrates in the early solar system.
The science of spin: Asteroseismologists confirm...
on April 22, 2021 at 4:36 pm
Stars spin faster than expected as they age according to a new study which uses asteroseismology to shed new light on this emerging theory.
Carbon dioxide-rich liquid water in ancient...
on April 21, 2021 at 7:12 pm
Scientists detect small pockets of carbon dioxide-rich liquid water in a meteorite dating from the early solar system.

Solar Flare News -- ScienceDaily Latest research news on solar flares, the solar cycle, geomagnetic storms and more.

Enormous flare from sun's nearest neighbor breaks...
on April 21, 2021 at 4:45 pm
On May 1, 2019, researchers observed a record-setting flare from the star Proxima Centauri -- a burst of energy roughly 100 times more powerful than any similar event seen from Earth's sun.
New research reveals secret to Jupiter's curious...
on April 10, 2021 at 2:49 pm
Jupiter's polar cap is threaded in part with closed magnetic field lines rather than entirely with open magnetic field lines, new research finds.
New study ties solar variability to the onset of...
on April 5, 2021 at 11:58 am
A new study shows a correlation between the end of solar cycles and a switch from El Nino to La Nina conditions in the Pacific Ocean, suggesting that solar variability can drive seasonal weather variability on Earth.
First X-rays from Uranus discovered
on March 31, 2021 at 5:09 pm
Astronomers have detected X-rays from Uranus using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. This result may help scientists learn more about this enigmatic ice giant planet in our solar system.
Scientists discover a new auroral feature on...
on March 29, 2021 at 1:48 pm
Astronomers have detected new faint aurora features, characterized by ring-like emissions, which expand rapidly over time. Scientists determined that charged particles coming from the edge of Jupiter's massive magnetosphere triggered these auroral emissions.