ASTR 001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Coronal Mass Ejection, Solar Radius, Maunder Minimum
15 Jul 2020
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Very hot: t=1 to 2 million k. Not visible with the eye unless there is a solar eclipse. The solar wind: charged particles flow away from the sun through coronal holes, where magnetic field lines also extend away. Structure: dark inner umbra with surrounding penumbra. Sun shows an 11-year sunspot cycle (part of 22-year magnetic cycle) The maunder minimum showed a distinct lack of sunspots between 1645 and 1715. Solar prominences: hot rising gas in the chromosphere constrained by magnetic fields. Solar flares and coronal mass ejections are highly energetic, violent bursts and eruptions. Solar storms can disrupt electric power grinds and satellites cause brilliant auroras. Our solar system is only a miniscule part of the universe. Theories of its origin must explain its contents: planets, moons, asteroids, etc. People have speculated about the origin of the solar system for centuries. Nebular hypothesis (18th century) contains the basic principles of our modern view of the solar system"s formation.
