10 questions
The sun produces energy in its core by combining H atoms into He atoms in a process known as ___.
Nuclear fission
gravitational compression
kinetic compression
Nuclear fusion
The center of the sun, the ___, produces the energy that eventually reaches us and warms the Earth.
core
radiative zone
corona
convective zone
Photons of light travel from where they are produced in the core to the convective zone, where they follow a zig-zag path that takes them close to a million years to reach the next layer - the photosphere. This process is called the _____.
CME
crooked path
random walk
100 yard dash
The outer atmosphere of the sun, only visible during a total solar eclipse, is called the ___.
penumbra
umbra
corona
corolla
Solar flares, prominences, coronal holes, and coronal mass ejections are all due to disturbances in _____ on the sun.
the convective zone
the radiative zone
the core
magnetic fields
The ___ was a huge solar storm in 1859 caused by 2 CMEs hitting Earth. Telegraph stations were damaged, and northern lights were seen much farther south than normal. If it happened again today, communication, electrical power, and navigation all would be disrupted - potentially for years.
Bastille Day Storm
Carrington Event
Solar Mega Storm
Our sun is a small G2 ___ star.
red giant
white dwarf
yellow dwarf
red dwarf
These appear darker than the rest of the sun's surface (photosphere) because the strong magnetic fields associated with them decrease convection from below the surface, cooling this area.
filaments
prominences
sun spots
flares
Our school has one of these devices that measure the changing strength of the local magnetic field twice per second. This was given to the school through NASA's THEMIS mission.
seismograph
magnetometer
solar telescope
coronagraph
Does the sun have enough mass to ever become a supernova?
Yes
No