The Structure and Composition of the Sun Quiz

PDF page 537: Let’s begin by asking what the solar atmosphere is made of. As explained in Radiation and Spectra, we can use a star’s absorption line spectrum to determine what elements are present. It turns out that the Sun contains the same elements as Earth but not in the same proportions. About 73% of the Sun’s mass is hydrogen, and another 25% is helium. All the other chemical elements (including those we know and love in our own bodies, such as carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen) make up only 2% of our star. The 10 most abundant gases in the Sun’s visible surface layer are listed in Table 15.2. Examine that table and notice that the composition of the Sun’s outer layer is very different from Earth’s crust, where we live. (In our planet’s crust, the three most abundant

PDF page 537: Let’s begin by asking what the solar atmosphere is made of. As explained in Radiation and Spectra, we can use a star’s absorption line spectrum to determine what elements are present. It turns out that the Sun contains the same elements as Earth but not in the same proportions. About 73% of the Sun’s mass is hydrogen, and another 25% is helium. All the other chemical elements (including those we know and love in our own bodies, such as carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen) make up only 2% of our star. The 10 most abundant gases in the Sun’s visible surface layer are listed in Table 15.2. Examine that table and notice that the composition of the Sun’s outer layer is very different from Earth’s crust, where we live. (In our planet’s crust, the three most abundant

PDF page 537: Let’s begin by asking what the solar atmosphere is made of. As explained in Radiation and Spectra, we can use a star’s absorption line spectrum to determine what elements are present. It turns out that the Sun contains the same elements as Earth but not in the same proportions. About 73% of the Sun’s mass is hydrogen, and another 25% is helium. All the other chemical elements (including those we know and love in our own bodies, such as carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen) make up only 2% of our star. The 10 most abundant gases in the Sun’s visible surface layer are listed in Table 15.2. Examine that table and notice that the composition of the Sun’s outer layer is very different from Earth’s crust, where we live. (In our planet’s crust, the three most abundant

PDF page 537: Let’s begin by asking what the solar atmosphere is made of. As explained in Radiation and Spectra, we can use a star’s absorption line spectrum to determine what elements are present. It turns out that the Sun contains the same elements as Earth but not in the same proportions. About 73% of the Sun’s mass is hydrogen, and another 25% is helium. All the other chemical elements (including those we know and love in our own bodies, such as carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen) make up only 2% of our star. The 10 most abundant gases in the Sun’s visible surface layer are listed in Table 15.2. Examine that table and notice that the composition of the Sun’s outer layer is very different from Earth’s crust, where we live. (In our planet’s crust, the three most abundant

PDF page 538: elements are oxygen, silicon, and aluminum.) Although not like our planet’s, the makeup of the Sun is quite typical of stars in general.

PDF page 539: Before Payne-Gaposchkin’s work, everyone assumed that the composition of the Sun and stars would be much like that of Earth. It was 3 years after her thesis that other studies proved beyond a doubt that the enormous abundance of hydrogen and helium in the Sun is indeed real. (And, as we will see, the composition of the Sun and the stars is much more typical of the makeup of the universe than the odd concentration of heavier elements that characterizes our planet.) Most of the elements found in the Sun are in the form of atoms, with a small number of molecules, all in the form of gases: the Sun is so hot that no matter can survive as a liquid or a solid. In fact, the Sun is so hot that many of the atoms in it are ionized, that is, stripped of one or more of their electrons. This removal of electrons from their atoms means that there is a large quantity of free electrons and positively charged ions in the Sun, making it an electrically charged environment—quite different from the neutral one in which you are reading this text. (Scientists call such a hot ionized gas a plasma.) In the nineteenth century, scientists observed a spectral line at 530.3 nanometers in the Sun’s outer atmosphere, called the corona (a layer we will discuss in a minute.) This line had never been seen before, and so it was assumed that this line was the result of a new element found in the corona, quickly named coronium. It was not until 60 years later that astronomers discovered that this emission was in fact due to highly ionized iron—iron with 13 of its electrons stripped off. This is how we first discovered that the Sun’s atmosphere had a temperature of more than a million degrees.

PDF page 539: Before Payne-Gaposchkin’s work, everyone assumed that the composition of the Sun and stars would be much like that of Earth. It was 3 years after her thesis that other studies proved beyond a doubt that the enormous abundance of hydrogen and helium in the Sun is indeed real. (And, as we will see, the composition of the Sun and the stars is much more typical of the makeup of the universe than the odd concentration of heavier elements that characterizes our planet.) Most of the elements found in the Sun are in the form of atoms, with a small number of molecules, all in the form of gases: the Sun is so hot that no matter can survive as a liquid or a solid. In fact, the Sun is so hot that many of the atoms in it are ionized, that is, stripped of one or more of their electrons. This removal of electrons from their atoms means that there is a large quantity of free electrons and positively charged ions in the Sun, making it an electrically charged environment—quite different from the neutral one in which you are reading this text. (Scientists call such a hot ionized gas a plasma.) In the nineteenth century, scientists observed a spectral line at 530.3 nanometers in the Sun’s outer atmosphere, called the corona (a layer we will discuss in a minute.) This line had never been seen before, and so it was assumed that this line was the result of a new element found in the corona, quickly named coronium. It was not until 60 years later that astronomers discovered that this emission was in fact due to highly ionized iron—iron with 13 of its electrons stripped off. This is how we first discovered that the Sun’s atmosphere had a temperature of more than a million degrees.

PDF page 540: ultimately emits. We will begin with the core and work our way out through the layers. The Sun’s core is extremely dense and is the source of all of its energy. Inside the core, nuclear energy is being released (in ways we will discuss in The Sun: A Nuclear Powerhouse). The core is approximately 20% of the size of the solar interior and is thought to have a temperature of approximately 15 million K, making it the hottest part of the Sun. Above the core is a region known as the radiative zone—named for the primary mode of transporting energy across it. This region starts at about 25% of the distance to the solar surface and extends up to about 70% of the way to the surface. The light generated in the core is transported through the radiative zone very slowly, since the high density of matter in this region means a photon cannot travel too far without encountering a particle, causing it to change direction and lose some energy. The convective zone is the outermost layer of the solar interior. It is a thick layer approximately 200,000 kilometers deep that transports energy from the edge of the radiative zone to the surface through giant convection cells, similar to a pot of boiling oatmeal. The plasma at the bottom of the convective zone is extremely hot, and it bubbles to the surface where it loses its heat to space. Once the plasma cools, it sinks back to the bottom of the convective zone. Now that we have given a quick overview of the structure of the whole Sun, in this section, we will embark on a journey through the visible layers of the Sun, beginning with the photosphere—the visible surface.

PDF page 540: ultimately emits. We will begin with the core and work our way out through the layers. The Sun’s core is extremely dense and is the source of all of its energy. Inside the core, nuclear energy is being released (in ways we will discuss in The Sun: A Nuclear Powerhouse). The core is approximately 20% of the size of the solar interior and is thought to have a temperature of approximately 15 million K, making it the hottest part of the Sun. Above the core is a region known as the radiative zone—named for the primary mode of transporting energy across it. This region starts at about 25% of the distance to the solar surface and extends up to about 70% of the way to the surface. The light generated in the core is transported through the radiative zone very slowly, since the high density of matter in this region means a photon cannot travel too far without encountering a particle, causing it to change direction and lose some energy. The convective zone is the outermost layer of the solar interior. It is a thick layer approximately 200,000 kilometers deep that transports energy from the edge of the radiative zone to the surface through giant convection cells, similar to a pot of boiling oatmeal. The plasma at the bottom of the convective zone is extremely hot, and it bubbles to the surface where it loses its heat to space. Once the plasma cools, it sinks back to the bottom of the convective zone. Now that we have given a quick overview of the structure of the whole Sun, in this section, we will embark on a journey through the visible layers of the Sun, beginning with the photosphere—the visible surface.

PDF page 540: ultimately emits. We will begin with the core and work our way out through the layers. The Sun’s core is extremely dense and is the source of all of its energy. Inside the core, nuclear energy is being released (in ways we will discuss in The Sun: A Nuclear Powerhouse). The core is approximately 20% of the size of the solar interior and is thought to have a temperature of approximately 15 million K, making it the hottest part of the Sun. Above the core is a region known as the radiative zone—named for the primary mode of transporting energy across it. This region starts at about 25% of the distance to the solar surface and extends up to about 70% of the way to the surface. The light generated in the core is transported through the radiative zone very slowly, since the high density of matter in this region means a photon cannot travel too far without encountering a particle, causing it to change direction and lose some energy. The convective zone is the outermost layer of the solar interior. It is a thick layer approximately 200,000 kilometers deep that transports energy from the edge of the radiative zone to the surface through giant convection cells, similar to a pot of boiling oatmeal. The plasma at the bottom of the convective zone is extremely hot, and it bubbles to the surface where it loses its heat to space. Once the plasma cools, it sinks back to the bottom of the convective zone. Now that we have given a quick overview of the structure of the whole Sun, in this section, we will embark on a journey through the visible layers of the Sun, beginning with the photosphere—the visible surface.

PDF page 540: ultimately emits. We will begin with the core and work our way out through the layers. The Sun’s core is extremely dense and is the source of all of its energy. Inside the core, nuclear energy is being released (in ways we will discuss in The Sun: A Nuclear Powerhouse). The core is approximately 20% of the size of the solar interior and is thought to have a temperature of approximately 15 million K, making it the hottest part of the Sun. Above the core is a region known as the radiative zone—named for the primary mode of transporting energy across it. This region starts at about 25% of the distance to the solar surface and extends up to about 70% of the way to the surface. The light generated in the core is transported through the radiative zone very slowly, since the high density of matter in this region means a photon cannot travel too far without encountering a particle, causing it to change direction and lose some energy. The convective zone is the outermost layer of the solar interior. It is a thick layer approximately 200,000 kilometers deep that transports energy from the edge of the radiative zone to the surface through giant convection cells, similar to a pot of boiling oatmeal. The plasma at the bottom of the convective zone is extremely hot, and it bubbles to the surface where it loses its heat to space. Once the plasma cools, it sinks back to the bottom of the convective zone. Now that we have given a quick overview of the structure of the whole Sun, in this section, we will embark on a journey through the visible layers of the Sun, beginning with the photosphere—the visible surface.

PDF page 540: Earth’s air is generally transparent. But on a smoggy day in many cities, it can become opaque, which prevents us from seeing through it past a certain point. Something similar happens in the Sun. Its outer atmosphere is transparent, allowing us to look a short distance through it. But when we try to look through the atmosphere deeper into the Sun, our view is blocked. The photosphere is the layer where the Sun becomes opaque and marks the boundary past which we cannot see (Figure 15.5).

PDF page 540: enlarged image of a group of sunspots; the size of Earth is shown for comparison. Sunspots appear darker because they are cooler than their surroundings. The typical temperature at the center of a large sunspot is about 3800 K, whereas the photosphere has a temperature of about 5800 K. (credit: modification of work by NASA/SDO)