The structure of the Sun
The Sun is a gigantic gas globe. It is so large that it could have contained 1 300 000 (1.3 million) globes the size of the Earth.
It is also very, very hot. In the outer parts of the Sun the gas is boiling.
It behaves in almost the same way as the water in a kettle does. Here we are going to look more closely at what happens. |
 |
| What does the Sun consist of? |
| The Sun is a gigantic gas globe – it contains no solid material or liquids. This is mainly due to the very high temperature of the Sun, but it is also due to the fact that the Sun mainly consists of light gases. |
 |
| Layers of convection |
| You have certainly seen water boil in a kettle. Bubbles of steam rush up to the surface of the water and make the water jump and dance. Did you know that gas could also boil? In fact, this happens on the Sun! |
|
| The formation of the elements |
| When the hydrogen of the nucleus of the star is used up, the star may go through many stages where the nucleus becomes denser and denser and warmer and warmer. |
|
| The outer layers |
| The visible surface of the Sun is called the photosphere and is only 500 kilometres thick. The temperature here is about 5500 ºC. |
|
| The interior of the Sun |
| The table gives the values of density, temperature etc. through the interior of the Sun. Each line gives the values of a certain depth of the Sun. The first line gives for instance the conditions of the centre of the Sun. |
|
| More facts about the Sun |
What is the temperature on the surface of the Sun and in the nucleus?
How high is the air pressure compared with the Earth?
How large is the Sun in diameter in relation to the Earth?
Read the following factual account and get the answer to this and much more. |
|
| The enormous energy production of the Sun |
The energy production of the Sun is incomprehensible 3.86*10 26 watts,
or 386 billion billion mega watts.
The quantity of energy that the Sun emits into space during one second would have been enough to provide the whole of Norway with power for more than 600 million years! |
|
| More details about the nuclear reaction in the Sun, for those who are especially interested |
| In the Sun and other stars hydrogen is converted into helium by several different nuclear reactions. The simplest of these is called the proton-proton chain (abbreviated to the PP-chain). |
|
|
