Speed of sun's movement and more - Multiverse

Solar Week - Ask a Question

Come here during Solar Week (next one: March 22-26, 2021) to interact. To post a question, click on your area of interest from the topics below, and then click on the "Ask New Question" button. Or EMAIL or tweet or plant in Answer Garden your question about the Sun or life as a scientist to us -- and watch for it to appear here. You can also visit our FAQs (frequently asked questions). In between Solar Weeks in October and March, you can view all the archives here.

Forums
Search Forum
Advanced SearchTopicsPosts

Prev Go to previous topic

Go to next topic

Last Post 10/3/2006 6:11 AM by Terry Kucera

Speed of sun's movement and more

1 Replies

Sort:


You are not authorized to post a reply.

Author

Messages

Anonymous

Posts:

10/2/2006 1:36 PM
How fast does the sun move around on it's axis? How does anyone know about the core of the sun when it is too hot to get close to it? How do you know how hot the sun is? How do you know Why is there gas inside the sun? How do you that all you have discovered is true?

Terry Kucera

Basic Member

Posts:328

10/3/2006 6:11 AM
Hi. That's a lot of questions! >How fast does the sun move around on it's axis? The sun is not solid and rotates at different rates at different latitudes. So, depending on where you are talking about it takes from 25 at the equator to 35 days at the poles. >How does anyone know about the core of the sun when it is too hot to get close to it? There are two ways we know about the inside of the Sun. One is because we know the size, mass and age of the Sun and how much energy it puts out. We can put those into models based on what we know of physics and they can tell us what the solar interior, including the core should be like. Now we also have the ability to study the interior of the sun by studying its vibrations. This is called helioseismology. It gives results that are very consistent with the models. You can read more about it here: http://solar-center.stanf...helioseismology.html >How do you know how hot the sun is? At the surface we can measure it by studying the light the sun gives. Under the surface we have to use models and helioseismology as I mentioned above. >How do you know Why is there gas inside the sun? We know that the Sun is made of of material that behaves like a gas or fluid in part from looking at its surface - for instance it does not rotate all together like a solid object. We also can figure out what it must be like below the surface using the models and measurements I mention above. we actually say that the sun is made of 'plasma' which is a super hot, electrically charged gas or fluid. >How do you know Why is there gas inside the sun? We try make predictions based on what we think it true and test them. That is why helioseismology has been so important for people studying the sun - it has allowed us to test our theories of what the sun is like inside. Terry