PHYS 183 Study Guide - Final Guide: Coronal Mass Ejection, Triple-Alpha Process, Interstellar Cloud
26 Apr 2015
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Document Summary
The sun shines with energy generated by fusion of hydrogen into helium in the sun"s co0re. After a journey through the solar interior lasting 100 thousands of years, and an 8 minute journey through space, a small fraction of this energy reaches earth. The sun shines steadily due to the balance b/w pressure and gravity (gravitational equilibrium) and the balance b/w energy produced and energy released at the surface (energy balance). These 2 kinds of balance create a natural thermostat that regulates the sun"s fusion rate, keeping the sun shining steadily and allowing life to flourish on earth. The sun"s atmosphere displays its own version of weather and climate, governed by solar magnetic fields. Some solar weather, such as coronal mass ejections, clearly affects earth"s magnetosphere. (aurora borealis; display of lights in the sky from the affects of solar wind hitting our magnetosphere).
