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Subsections
The Sun is a very important object for all life on Earth. The nuclear
reactions which occur in its core produce the energy which plants and
animals need to survive. We schedule our lives around the rising and
setting of the Sun in the sky. During the summer, the Sun is higher
in the sky and thus warms us more than during the winter, when the Sun
stays low in the sky. But the Sun's effect on Earth is even more
complicated than these simple examples.
The Sun is the nearest star to us, which is both an advantage and a
disadvantage for astronomers who study stars. Since the Sun is very close,
and very bright, we know much more about the Sun than we know about other distant stars.
This complicates the picture quite a bit since we need to better understand
the physics going in the Sun in order to comprehend all our detailed
observations. This difference makes the job of solar astronomers
in some ways more difficult than the job of stellar astronomers, and in
some ways easier! It's a case of having
lots of incredibly detailed data. But all of the phenomena associated with
the Sun are occuring on other stars, so understanding the Sun's behavior
provides insights to how other stars might behave.
Figure 12.1:
A diagram of the various layers/components of the Sun, as well
as the appearance and location of other prominent solar features.
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- Goals: to discuss the layers of the Sun and solar phenomena; to use these concepts in conjunction with pictures to deduce characteristics of solar
flares, prominences, sunspots, and solar rotation
- Materials: You will be given a Sun image notebook, a bar magnet
with iron filings and a plastic tray. You will need paper to write on, a ruler, and a calculator
One of the things we know best about the Sun is its overall structure.
Figure 12.1 is a schematic of the layers of the
Sun's interior and atmosphere.
The interior of the Sun is made up of three distinct regions: the core, the
radiative zone, and the convective zone. The core of the Sun is very hot and dense.
This is the only place in the Sun where the temperature and pressure are high
enough to support nuclear reactions. The
radiative zone is the region of the sun where the energy is transported through the process of radiation. Basically, the photons
generated by the core are absorbed and emitted by the atoms found in the
radiative zone like cars in stop and go traffic. This is a very slow process.
The
convective zone is the
region of the Sun where energy is transported by rising "bubbles'' of material.
This is the same phenomenon that takes place when you boil a pot of water.
The hot bubbles rise to the top, cool, and fall back down. This gives the
the surface of the Sun a granular look. Granules are bright regions surrounded by darker narrow regions. These granules cover the entire surface of the Sun.
The atmosphere of the Sun is also comprised of three layers: the photosphere,
the chromosphere, and the corona. The
photosphere is a thin layer that forms
the visible surface of the Sun. This layer acts as a kind of insulation, and
helps the Sun retain some of its
heat and slow its consumption of fuel in the core. The
chromosphere is the Sun's lower atmosphere. This layer can only be seen during a solar eclipse
since the photosphere is so bright. The corona is the outer atmosphere of the
Sun. It is very hot, but has a very low density, so this layer can only be
seen during a solar eclipse. More information on the layers of the Sun can be found in your textbook.
Sunspots appear as dark spots on the photoshere (surface) of the Sun (see
Figure 12.2). They last from a few days to over a month. Their
average size is about the size of the Earth, although they have been observed
to be over twice the size of the Earth! Sunspots are commonly found in pairs. How do these spots form?
Figure 12.2:
A large, complicated group of Sunspots.
 |
The formation of sunspots is attributed to the Sun's differential rotation.
The Sun is a ball of gas, and therefore does not rotate like the Earth or any other solid object. The Sun's equator rotates faster than its poles. It takes
roughly 25 days for something to travel once around the equator, but about 35
days for it to travel once around the north or south pole. This differential rotation acts to twist up the magnetic field lines inside the Sun. At times,
the lines can get so twisted that they pop out of the photosphere. Figure
12.3 illustrates this concept.
When a magnetic field loop pops out, the places where it leaves and re-enters
the photosphere are cooler than the rest of the Sun's surface. These cool
places appear darker, and therefore are called "sunspots''.
Figure 12.3:
Sunspots are a result of the Sun's differential rotation.
 |
The number of sunspots rises and falls over an 11 year period. This is the amount of time it takes for the magnetic lines to tangle up and then become
untangled again. This is called the
Solar Cycle. Look in your textbook for more information on sunspots and the solar cycle.
The Sun is a very exciting place. All sorts of activity and eruptions take
place in it and around it. We will now briefly discuss a few of these interesting phenomema. You will be analyzing pictures of prominences and flares
during your lab.
Prominences are huge loops of glowing gas protruding from the chromosphere.
Charged particles spiral around the magnetic field lines that loop out over the surface of the Sun, and therefore we see bright loops above the Sun's surface.
Very energetic prominences can break free from the magnetic field lines and
shoot out into space.
Flares are brief but bright eruptions of hot gas in the Sun's atmosphere. These
eruptions occur near sunspot groups and are associated with the Sun's
intertwined magnetic field lines. A large flare can release as much energy as
10 billion megatons of TNT! The charged particles that flares emit can disrupt
communication systems here on Earth.
Another result of charged particles bombarding the Earth is the Northern Lights.
When the particles reach the Earth, they latch on to the Earth's magnetic field
lines. These lines enter the Earth's atmosphere near the poles. The charged
particles from the Sun then excite the molecules in Earth's atmosphere and cause them to glow. Your textbook will have more fascinating information about these
solar phenomema.
There are three main exercises in this lab. The first part consists of
a series of "stations'' in a three ring binder where you examine some
pictures of the Sun and answer some questions about the images that you see.
Use the information that you have
learned from lectures and your book to give explanations for the different
phenomena that you see at each station. In the second exercise you will
learn about magnetic fields using a bar magnet and some iron filings. Finally,
for those labs that occur during daylight hours (i.e., starting before 5 pm!),
you will actually look at the Sun using a special telescope to see some
of the phenomena that were detailed in the images in the first exercise
of this lab (for those students in nighttime labs, arrangements will be
made to attempt to observe the Sun during one of your lecture sections). During
this lab you will use your
own insight and knowledge of basic physics and astronomy to obtain important
information about the phenomena that we see on the Sun, just as solar
astronomers do. As with all of the other exercises in this lab manual, if
there is not
sufficient room to write in your answers into this lab, do not hesitate
to use additional sheets of paper. Do not try to squeeze your answers into the
tiny blank spaces in this lab description if you need more space then
provided! Don't forget to SHOW ALL OF YOUR WORK.
One note of caution about the images that you see: the colors of the pictures
(especially those taken by SOHO) are not true colors, but are simply
colors used by the observatories' image processing teams to best enhance the
features shown in the image.
Station 1: In this first station we simply present some images of the
Sun to familiarize yourself with what you will be seeing during the
remainder of this lab. Note that this station has no questions that you
have to answer, but you still should take time to familiarize yourself with
the various features visible on/near the Sun, and get comfortable with
the specialized, filtered image shown here.
- The first image in this station is a simple "white light'' picture of the
Sun as it would appear to you if you were to look at it in a telescope
that was designed for viewing the Sun. Note the dark spots on the surface
of the Sun. These are "sunspots'', and are dark because they are cooler
than the rest of the photosphere.
- When we take a very close-up view of the Sun's photosphere we see
that it is broken up into much smaller "cells''. This is the "solar
graunulation'', and is shown in picture #2. Note the size of these
granules. These convection cells are about the size
of New Mexico!
- To explore what is happening on the Sun more fully requires special
tools. If you have had the spectroscopy lab, you will have seen the spectral
lines of elements. By choosing the right element, we can actually probe
different regions in the Sun's atmosphere. In our first example, we look
at the Sun in the light of the hydrogen atom ("H-alpha''). This is the
red line in the spectrum of hydrogen. If you have a daytime lab, and the
weather is good, you will get to see the Sun just like it appears in
picture #3. The dark regions in this image is where cool gas is present
(the dark spot at the center is a sunspot). The dark linear, and curved
features are "prominences'', and are due to gas caught in the magnetic
field lines of the underlying sunspots. They are above the surface of the
Sun, so they are a little bit cooler than the photosphere, and therefore
darker.
- Picture #4 shows a "loop' prominence located at the edge (or "limb'')
of the Sun (the disk of the Sun has been blocked out using a special
telescope called a "coronograph'' to allow us to see
activity near its limb). If the Sun cooperates, you may be able to see
several of these prominences with the solar telescope. You will be returning
to this image in Exercise #2.
Station 2: Here are two images of the Sun taken by the SOHO
satellite several days apart (the exact times are at the top of the
image). (8 points)
- Look at the sunspot group just below center of the Sun in
image 1, and then note that it has rotated to the western
(right-hand) limb of the Sun in image 2. Since the sunspot
group has moved from center to limb, you then know that the Sun has
rotated by one quarter of a turn (90o).
- Determine the precise time difference between the images. Use this
information plus the fact that the Sun has turned by 90 degrees in
that time to determine the rotation rate of the Sun. If the Sun turns
by 90 degrees in time t, it would complete one revolution of 360
degrees in how much time?
- Does this match the rotation rate given in your textbook or in
lecture? Show your work.
In the second photograph of this station are two different
images of the Sun: the one on
the left is a photo of the Sun taken in the near-infrared at Kitt Peak
National Observatory, and the one on the right is a "magnetogram'' (a
picture of the magnetic field distribution on the surface of the Sun)
taken at about the same time. (Note that black and white areas
represent regions with different polarities, like the north and
south poles of the bar magnet used in the second part of this lab.) (7 points)
- What do you notice about the location of sunspots in the
photo and the location of the strongest magnetic fields, shown by the
brightest or darkest colors in the magnetogram?
- Based on this answer, what do you think causes sunspots to form? Why are they dark?
Station 3: Here is a picture of the corona of the Sun, taken by
the SOHO satellite in the extreme ultraviolet. (An image of the Sun has been
superimposed at the center of the picture. The black ring surrounding it is a
result of image processing and is not real.) (10 points)
- Determine the diameter of the Sun, then measure the
minimum extent of the corona (diagonally from upper left to lower
right).
- If the photospheric diameter of the Sun is 1.4 million
kilometers (1.4 x 106 km), how big is the corona? (HINT: use unit conversion!)
- How many times larger than the Earth is the corona? (Earth diameter=12,500 km)
Station 4: This image shows a time-series of exposures by the SOHO
satellite showing an eruptive prominence. (15 points)
- As in station 3, measure the diameter of the Sun and then measure
the distance of the top of the prominence from the edge of the Sun in
the first (earliest) image. Then measure the distance of the top of
the prominence from the edge of the Sun in the last image.
- Convert these values into real distances based on the linear
scale of the images. Remember the diameter of the Sun is 1.4 x 106
kilometers.
- The velocity of an object is the distance it travels in a certain amount
of time (vel=dist/time). Find the velocity of the prominence by subtracting
the two distances and dividing the answer by the amount of time between the
two images.
- In the most severe of solar storms, those that cause flares, and "coronal
mass ejections'' (and can disrupt communications on Earth), the material ejected
in the prominence (or flare) can reach velocities of 2,000 kilometers per
second. If the Earth is 150 x 106 kilometers from the Sun, how long (hours
or days) would it take for this ejected material to reach the Earth?
Station 5: This is a plot of where sunspots tend to occur on the Sun as
a function of latitude (top plot) and time (bottom plot). What do you notice about
the distribution sunspots? How long does it take the pattern to repeat? What
does this length of time correspond to? (3 points)
The magnetic field of the Sun drives most of the solar activity. In this
section we compare the magnetic field of sunspots to that of a bar magnet
(and an optional exercise that shows that a magnetic field is generated by an
electric current).
During this exercise you will be using a plastic tray in which you will
sprinkle iron filings (small bits of iron) to trace the magnetic field
of a bar magnet. This
can be messy, so be careful as we only have a finite supply of these iron
filings, and the other lab sections will need to re-use the ones supplied to
you.
- First, let's explore the behavior of a compass in the presence of a
magnetic field. Grab the bar magnet and wave the "north pole'' (the red end of
the bar magnet with the large "N'') of the magnet by
the compass. Which end of the compass needle (or arrow) seems to be attracted
by the north pole of the magnet? (1 point)
- Ok, reverse the bar magnet so the south pole (white end) is the one closest to the
compass. Which end of the compass needle is attracted to the south pole of
the bar magnet? (1 point)
- The compass needle itself is a little magnet, and the pointy, arrow
end of the compass needle is the north pole of this little magnet. Knowing
this, what does this say about magnets? Which pole is attracted to which
pole (and vice versa)? (1 point)
- As you know, a compass can be used to find your way if you are lost
because the needle always points towards the North Pole of the Earth. The
Earth has its own magnetic field generated deep in its molten iron core.
This field acts just like that of a bar magnet. But given
your answer to the last question, and the fact that the "north pole'' of
the compass needle points to the North Pole of the Earth, what is the
actual "polarity'' of the Earth's "magnetic North'' pole? (1 point)
We have just demonstrated the power of attraction of a magnetic field. What
does a magnetic field look like? In this section we use some iron filings, a
plastic tray, and the bar magnet to explore the appearance of a magnetic
field, and compare that to what we see on the Sun.
- Place the bar magnet on the table, and center the plastic tray on top
of the bar magnet. Gently sprinkle the iron filings on to the plastic tray
so that a thin coating covers the entire tray. Sketch the pattern
traced-out by the magnetic filings below, and describe this pattern. (2 points)
- The iron filings trace the magnetic field lines of the bar magnet. The
field lines surround the magnet in all dimensions (though we can only easily
show them in two dimensions). Your TA will show you a device that has
a bar magnet inside a plastic case to demonstrate the three dimensional nature of the field. Compare
the pattern of the iron filings around the bar magnet to the picture of the
sunspot shown in Figure 12.4. They are similar! What does
this imply about sunspots? (2 points)
Figure 12.4:
The darker region of this double sunspot is called the "umbra'',
while the less dark, filamentary region is called the "penumbra''.
 |
- Now, lets imagine what a fully three dimensional magnetic field
looks like. The pattern of the iron filings around the bar magnet
would also exist into the space above the bar magnet, but we cannot suspend
the iron filings above the magnet. Complete Figure
12.5 by drawing-in what you imagine the magnetic field lines
look like above the bar magnet. (2 points)
Figure 12.5:
Draw in the field lines above this bar magnet.
 |
- Compare your drawing, above, to the image of the loop prominence seen in
station #1 of Exercise #1. What are their similarities--imagine if the
magnetic field lines emitted light, what would you expect to see? (1 point)
If a sunspot pair is like a little bar magnet
on the surface of the Sun, the field extends up into the atmosphere, and
along the magnetic field charged particles can collect, and we see light
emitted by these moving particles (mostly ionized hydrogen). Note that
we do not always see the complete set of field lines in prominences because
of the lack of material high in the Sun's atmosphere--but the bases of
the prominences are visible, and are located just above the sunspot.
*************If the weather is clear, and your TA is ready, you can proceed to
Exercise #3 to look at the Sun with a special solar telescope.************
If yours is a nighttime lab, or the weather is poor, you may not be able
to complete exercise #3. If this is the case, we offer this alternative
exercise on how magnetic fields are created.
How are magnetic fields generated? There are two general categories of
magnetism, one is due to intrinsically magnetic materials such as the
bar magnet you have been playing with, and the other are magnetic fields
generated by electric currents. The mechanism for why some materials are
magnetic is complicated, and requires an understanding of the atomic/molecular
structure of materials, and is beyond the scope of this class. The second
type of magnetism, that caused by electric currents, is more relevant for
understanding solar activity.
Electricity and magnetism are intimately related, in fact, scientists talk
about the theory of "Electromagnetism''. An electric current, which is
(usually) composed of moving electrons, generates a magnetic field. A moving magnetic
field, can generate an electric current. The magnetic fields of both the
Earth and the Sun are generated because they have regions deep inside them
that act as electromagnetic fluids. In the Earth's core, it is very hot,
and the iron there is molten. Due to the rotation of the Earth, this molten
iron fluid is rotating very quickly. Thus, the liquid iron core acts like
a current flowing around a wire and can generate a magnetic field. A
similar process occurs in the Sun. The gas in the interior of the Sun is
"ionized'' (the electrons are no longer bound to the protons), and thus
the rotation of the Sun spins this ionized gas around generating an
electric current that, in turn, generates a magnetic field.
In this exercise you will be using a voltage source (either a battery or
low voltage transformer) to generate an electric current to produce a
magnetic field. For our "electromagnet'' we will simply use a bolt wound
with wire. The current flows through the wire, which generates a magentic
field that is carried by the nail. (Warning: the wire and/or bolt can
get fairly hot if you leave the current on too long, so be careful!)
- Take the two ends of the wire that is wound around the bolt and hook
them to the terminals of the lantern battery (or 6V transformer). You now
have an electromagnet. Move the compass slowly around the electromagnet.
Describe its behavior, does it act like the bar magnet? (2 points)
- Using the experience gained from Exercise #2, which end of the nail
is the "North'' pole of the electromagnet? Switch the wire leads so
that they wires are connected in an opposite way. What happens? (2 points).
- Just as you did for the bar magnet, place the white plastic tray on top
of the electromagnet and gently sprinkle the iron filings into the tray
(sprinkle them very lightly, and gently tap the white tray to get them
to align-your electro-magnet is not quite as strong as the bar magnet).
Draw the resulting pattern on the next page. (2 points)
- Does the pattern you have just drawn resemble the one generated by
the magnetic field? Describe your results. (2 points)
The Sun is very bright, and looking at it with either the naked eye or any
optical device is dangerous--special precautions are necessary to enable
you to actually look at the Sun. To make the viewing safe, we must eliminate
99.999% of the light from the Sun to reduce it to safe levels. In this exercise you will
be using a very special telescope designed for viewing the Sun. This telescope
is equipped with a hydrogen light filter. It only allows a tiny amount of
light through, isolating a single emission line from hydrogen ("H-alpha'').
In your lecture session you will learn about the emission spectrum of
hydrogen, and in the spectroscopy lab you get to see this red line of hydrogen
using a spectroscope. Several of the pictures in Exercise #1 were actually
obtained using a similar filter system. This filter system gives us a
unique view of the Sun that allows us to better see certain types of
solar phenomena, especially the "prominences'' you encountered in Exercise
#1.
- In the "Solar Observation Worksheet'' below, draw what you see on
and near the Sun as seen through the
special solar telescope. (8 points)
Note: Kitt Peak Vacuum Telescope images are courtesy of KPNO/NOAO.
SOHO Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope images courtesy of the
SOHO/EIT consortium. SOHO Michelson Doppler Imager images courtesy
of the SOHO/MDI consortium. SOHO is a project of international cooperation
between the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA.
(35 points) Please summarize the important concepts discussed in this lab.
- Discuss the different types of phenomena and structures you looked at in the lab
- Explain how you can understand what causes a phenomenon to occur by looking at the right kind of data
- List the six layers of the Sun (in order) and give their temperatures.
- What causes the Northern (and Southern) Lights, also known as "Aurorae''?
Use complete sentences and, proofread your summary before turning it in.
Possible Quiz Questions
1) What are sunspots, and what leads to their formation?
2) Name the three interior regions of the Sun.
3) What is differential rotation?
4) What is the "photosphere''?
5) What are solar flares?
Next: The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram
Up: AY110 lab manual
Previous: The Power of Light:
Tom Harrison
2008-07-09
