Sun

Our Sun is a star.
Our Sun is 93 million miles from Earth.
The Earth's orbit around the Sun is slightly elliptical and varies by just a few million miles.
We are closest to the sun on January 1st (Perihelion) and farthest from the Sun on July 1st (Aphelio

All stars get their energy from ?????

nuclear fusion.

Fusion

combines atoms of lighter elements into heavier elements.

Plasma

4th state of matter and is the result of great heat and pressure.

Albert Einstein

E=mc2 E = energy m = mass c = speed of light

Photosphere

the visible surface of the Sun

Chromosphere

the inner layer of the Sun's atmosphere. It extends thousands of Km.

Corona

Sun's thin outer atmosphere

Sun Spots

Dark spots on the photosphere. They move from left to right across the sun. The number of spots chsnges from day to day. These spots show that the Sun rotates on its axis. The rate of rotation varies: at the equator one rotation takes approximately 25 day

Solar Wind

a constant stream of electrically charged particles from the corona. They are mostly protons and electrons. They travel at 450 kps. They reach the Earth in a few days. The Earth's magnetic field (Van Allen Belts) shields the Earth from the harmful solar w

Auroras

caused as the solar wind passes through the Earth's magnetic field at the poles.

Coronal holes

a hole in the corona giving off huge amounts of solar wind

Solar Flares

outbursts of light from sun spots giving off large amounts of solar wind.

Magnetic Storms

caused by particles coronal holes and solar flares are added to the solar wind. These storms may interrupt cell phones, radios, TV's, etc.