Transcript Threat of Sunshine

The Dangers of Solar Storms and Solar Cycles
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Radius = 696,000 km
Mass = 2E30 kg
Luminosity = 3.8E26 W
Rotation Rate
 25 days at the equator and 30 days at the poles
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Surface Temp
 5,800 K average, 4,000 K sunspots
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Nuclear fusion is the source of all the energy
released by the sun
 Steady fusion rates maintain a steady luminosity
 Hydrogen fusion is the primary mechanism
▪ P-P chain
▪ CNO cycle
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http://atropos.as.arizona.edu/aiz/teaching/a250/pp.html
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For every 1 million atoms of hydrogen in the
entire sun
 98,000 atoms of helium
 850 of oxygen
 360 of carbon
 120 of neon
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 110 of nitrogen
 40 of magnesium
 35 of iron
 35 of silicon
http://webusers.astro.umn.edu/~larry/CLASS/AST2001/pre2007/massive_star_struct.jpg
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Plasma
 Gas whose temperature is so hot it becomes
sensitive to magnetism
 Ionized due to high temperatures
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Most energy is lost to electromagnetic
radiation
 Visible light
 Infrared
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Particle radiation also emits energy
 Flares and coronal mass ejections release intense
concentrations of energetic particles
 Hazardous to astronauts in orbit and satellites
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http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/soho_top10_winners_031125-2.html
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Convection is an important heat transfer
mechanism in the sun
 Convection causes the temperature of the
convection zone to remain uniform
 Occurs because hot gas is less dense than cool gas
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What are They
What Causes Them
Etc.
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Minimums
Maximums
Etc.
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Impact on Communications
Earth’s Magnetic Field
Etc.
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Overview
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Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)
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Launch date: 1995
The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory's spectrographs and cameras have provided much of what we know about space
weather and solar physics today.
Location in orbit (L1 position)
What
Where
When
Why
How
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Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory
(STEREO)
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Launch date: 2006
A pair of satellites, the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory, will generate the first 3-D views of solar flares and coronal
mass ejections and will predict which events threaten Earth.
What
Where
When
Why
How
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Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE)
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What
Where
When
Why
How
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Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)
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Launch date: 2008
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory will observe processes like convection and sunspot formation, with the goal of
predicting solar storms weeks before they erupt.
What
Where
When
Why
How
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Solar Sentinel
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Launch date: 2015
Four satellites in Solar Sentinel will fly in varying orbits around the sun, monitoring a solar storm's path all the way to
Earth. A fifth orbiter will watch the far side of the sun.
What
Where
When
Why
How
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Basic Calculation Related to Solar Storms
 Wavelength/Energy Related
 Speed at which CME Travels
 Something Related to 11.3 yr cycle
 Nuclear Calculation
 Solar Storm Magnetic Energy Required to
Produce X Amps of Current in an Alaskan Pipeline
 Something about Increased Corrosion Rate
Team Gemini