Chapter 9 HSU Astronomy – Flashcards
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The suns energy is generated by
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Nuclear fusion
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The layer of the sun that is normally visible to us is the
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Photosphere
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Where is the chromosphere on the sun
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It is the layer above the visible surface of the sun
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Sunspots are the area of the sun that are
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Cooler than their surroundings
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the two forces producing hydrostatic equilibrium in the sun are
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nuclear forces and gravity
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the is the suns outer atmosphere. It is visible during the total eclipse of the sun as a pearly white crown surrounding the sun
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corona
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are regions of higher temperature and density surrounding sunspots
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Plages
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The temperature of the suns photosphere is
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5800 K
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The is then given by the sum of the number of individual sunspots and ten times the number of groups
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Sunspot number
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What is the photosphere of the sun
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The visible "surface" of the sun
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The thickness of the photosphere, or the visible "surface" of the sun is,
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about 400 km
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The surface of the sun is divided into light-colored areas with dark boundaries in a cellular pattern. What are these cells called?
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Granules
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What is the names of the layer of the suns atmosphere that appears as a pinkish ring just outside the visible disk of the sun during a solar eclipse
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the chromosphere
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What are the names of the three layers f the suns atmosphere, in the order from highest to lowest?
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Corona, chromosphere, photosphere
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Where is the coolest region in the sun?
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in the photosphere
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What is the solar wind?
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The suns outer atmosphere streaming out into space
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Sunspots are
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cooler, darker regions on the suns atmosphere
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What is the name of a sudden eruptive surge on the surface of the sun?
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A flare
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What is the average length of time from one maximum in the number of sunspots to the next maximum
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11 yeasr
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The average sunspot group on the solar surface will last for about
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two rotations of the sun
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Sunspots are caused by
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differential rotation and its effect on weak magnetic fields just under the solar surface
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Energy is transported from the center of the sun to the surface by
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mostly radiation; Convection only in outer layers
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Thermonuclear fusion reactions in the core of the sun convert four hydrogen atoms into one helium atom. The helium atom has
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LEss mass than the four hydrogen atoms, because the energy produced is lost from the atom, the energy is equivalent to mass by e=mc squared
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What process provides the power for the sun?
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the fusion of hydrogen into helium
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The brighter cells surrounded by dark, narrow boundaries making up the cellular pattern that completely covers the visible surface of the sun are called
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Granules
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Granulation on the surface on the sun is caused by
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convective currents carrying heat from beneath the surface
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The gas motions within granules on the solar surface are
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Almost nonexistent; the dark patterns represent a network of absorbing gases overlying the atmosphere
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What is the reason why the edge of the suns visible disk is darker than the center
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we see into shallower layers into the sun near the edge and, because the gas is less dense there, it emits light
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What is a spicule on the sun?
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a jet of rising gas in the chromosphere
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the rotation of the sun is
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fastest at the equator, slower at mid-lattitudes and slowest near the poles
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the equatorial region of the sun are seen to rotate with an approximate period of
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about 25 days
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What is the character of the sunspot cycle?
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sunspots increase and decrease in number over 11 years, appearing at random location between latitude 10 and 30 degrees from the equator in both hemispheres
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The Maunder minimum is the name given to
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a period of 70 years in the late 1600s during which essentially no sunspots were seen
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What is a neutrino?
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an uncharged electron
