Cosma / Communication / Knowledge / Realm / Physical / Universe / Solar System / Sun
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Introduction1
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Parker Solar Probe Mission (NASA Goddard)
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
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
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)
Search
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Innovation
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)
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Preservation
HistoryGiovanni Cassini Biography (Space.com)
Giovanni Domenico Cassini (Wikipedia)
Sunspots – The Exploratorium’s Guide to Sunspots
Voyages to the Sun (Steven J. Dick, NASA’s Chief Historian)
Missions to Study the Sun (Planetary Society)
Quotation
Library
WorldCat, Library of Congress, UPenn Online Books, Open Library
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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
Government
Space Weather Prediction Center (NOAA)
Document
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Expression
Fun
Arts
The top 10 suns in art (The Guardian)
Poem
OEDILF: The Omnificent English Dictionary In Limerick Form
Music
More News …
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.
- Breakthrough in understanding cosmic forces that...on December 3, 2021 at 8:14 pm
Astrophysicists have made a breakthrough discovery in our understanding of the cosmic forces that shape the heliosphere.
- Closest pair of supermassive black holes yeton November 30, 2021 at 1:43 pm
Astronomers have revealed the closest pair of supermassive black holes to Earth ever observed. The two objects also have a much smaller separation than any other previously spotted pair of supermassive black holes and will eventually merge into one giant black hole.
- Largest comet ever observed was active at...on November 29, 2021 at 10:28 pm
Astronomers show that comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein (BB), the largest comet ever discovered, was active long before previously thought, meaning the ice within it is vaporizing and forming an envelope of dust and vapor known as a coma. Only one active comet has been observed farther from the sun, and it was much smaller than comet BB.
- Strong winds power electric fields in the upper...on November 29, 2021 at 10:27 pm
Using observations from NASA's ICON mission, scientists presented the first direct measurements of Earth's long-theorized dynamo on the edge of space: a wind-driven electrical generator that spans the globe 60-plus miles above our heads. The dynamo churns in the ionosphere, the electrically charged boundary between Earth and space. It's powered by tidal winds in the upper atmosphere that are faster than most hurricanes and rise from the lower atmosphere, creating an electrical environment that […]
- Sun is likely an unaccounted source of the...on November 29, 2021 at 5:27 pm
Curtin University researchers have helped unravel the enduring mystery of the origins of the Earth's water, finding the Sun to be a surprising likely source.
Solar Flare News -- ScienceDaily Latest research news on solar flares, the solar cycle, geomagnetic storms and more.
- A lab in the sky: Physics experiment in Earth’s...on October 27, 2021 at 4:20 pm
The Earth's atmosphere has been used as a 'laboratory' to carry out a physics experiment which could help to improve the performance of GPS.
- Radio signals from distant stars suggest hidden...on October 11, 2021 at 3:08 pm
Using the world's most powerful radio antenna, scientists have discovered stars unexpectedly blasting out radio waves, possibly indicating the existence of hidden planets.
- This is what it looks like when a black hole...on September 27, 2021 at 2:26 pm
Analyzing observations of an X-ray flare and fitting the data with theoretical models, astronomers documented a fatal encounter between an unlucky star and a black hole.
- Risk from solar flares to planes is real but not...on September 2, 2021 at 4:50 pm
Aviation guidelines aim to mitigate the effects of radiation, mainly caused by galactic cosmic rays and solar energetic particles, or SEP. The fluxes in the former are stable and predictable: dose rates are no higher than 10 µSv/h at the normal flight altitude of 12 km. But in the case of SEP, does the frequency of detected solar flares justify the costs of countermeasures? Current mitigation procedures instruct planes to lower altitude or change or cancel flight paths altogether, […]
- Will it be safe for humans to fly to Mars?on August 26, 2021 at 3:17 pm
A human space mission would be viable if it doesn't exceed four years, an international research team concludes in new research.
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Adventures
Explore related posts on Cosma …
- 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
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Related
Here are links to pages about closely related subjects.
“Fundamentals”
Law (Constant) Relativity
Force Gravity, Electromagnetism (Light, Color)
Matter (Microscope) Molecule, Atom (Periodic Table), Particle
“Space”
Universe (Astronomical Instrument)
Galaxy Milky Way, Andromeda
Planetary System Star, Brown Dwarf, Planet, Moon
Our Neighborhood
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
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Notes
1. The resources on this page are are organized by a classification scheme developed exclusively for Cosma.