AST101H1 Chapter Notes - Chapter 14: Cubic Centimetre, Convection Zone, Photosphere
21 Oct 2017
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AST101H1 Full Course Notes
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Diameter: 1, 392, 000 km: (109 times the diameter of the earth) Mass: 1. 989x1030 kg: (300,00 times the mass of the earth) Composition (by mass): 70% hydrogen, 28% helium, 1% oxygen, 0. 4 % carbon, 0. 6% heavier elements. Rotation rate: 25 days (equator) to 30 days (poles) Temperature: 5500 c (average), 3700 c (sunspots), 15 million c (centre) Density: 1. 4 grams/cc (average), 160 grams/cc (centre) (compare: water 1 gram/cc, earth average 5. 5 grams/cc) Radiative zone from 25% to 70% of the radius. Light and heat travel outward from the core. Convective zone from 70% to 100% of the radius. Lots of churning: hot gas rising, cool gas falling. The surface of the sun: where the sun changes from transparent to opaque. Only approximately 100 km thick (0. 015% of total radius) Granules approximately 1000 km across (lasts 5-10 minutes) We"re seeing the top of the convective zone. Halo of gas above photosphere and chromosphere. Seen only during total eclipse of the sun.
