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1. Class, today if you will listen,
This is about the star of our Solar System.
It's not Elvis, Madonna or Elton John,
Because our star is big, bright, hot and called the
Sun.
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2. The brightness is really something to
see,
And its heat we must have, for life to be.
All the planets orbit around this big sphere,
And it's necessary for the lives we hold so
dear.
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3. When talking about the Sun's description,
We can think about the Earth for facts, not
fiction.
Its distance from Earth is one AU;
That's 93 million miles to me and you.
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4. Now, the Sun has a really big girth.
Its radius is 100 times that of Earth;
Its mass is 300,000 times that of the Earth in
size.
We can easily see the Sun as it lights up the
skies.
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5. The Sun is made of really hot gas.
71% hydrogen and 27% helium make up most of the
mass.
The high temperatures break molecules down,
So, the atoms are free to roam all around.
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6. The surface of the Sun is the
photosphere;
It's visible and with a 5780 K temperature.
The hottest area is known as the core,
Where the temperature is 15 million K or more.
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7. Near the core is the radiative zone;
Here energy moves by radiation to find a new
home.
Just below the photosphere is another area
known;
Here gas rises and sinks and is called the
convection zone.
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8. On the Sun there are clumps of gas that rise
and fall.
This is known as granulation to one and all.
The hotter the gas; the brighter they look.
But, cooler is darker, as shown in our book.
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9. The Sun has two main regions of
atmosphere;
They're known as the corona and the
chromosphere.
These areas are splendid and unique,
And both essential parts of the knowledge we
seek.
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10. The corona, with a very low density, is the
outer one,
And we can see right through this part of the
Sun.
Also, in the corona there are coronal hole
regions;
These have cooler gases and are seen during all
seasons.
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11. Next is the chromosphere and known as the
lower one.
It is a really thin layer that goes around the
Sun.
Now, it's usually invisible against the photosphere
glare,
But, during a total eclipse, you'll see red if you
stare
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12. In the chromosphere there are spicules to
see.
These hot, thin columns of gas put on a show for
free.
The huge plumes of glowing gas, shaped like an
arc,
Are called prominences and really light up the
dark.
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13. There is a process going on that sounds
complicated,
But hydrostatic equilibrium is simple and never
outdated.
The outward pressure push is in a certain
amount,
And the inward gravitational force has the same
count.
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14. In relating three factors of gas, there is a
law;
It's called perfect/ideal and known to all.
The strength of the pressure is proportional to the
density,
And this depends on how often and hard the
collision can be.
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15. When converting hydrogen to helium, we need
nuclear fusion,
Which causes nuclei to move fast and this is no
illusion.
Their movement is so fast that when they
collide
The atoms end up like plasma and are totally
ionized.
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16. Another form of fusion is the proton-proton
chain.
Hydrogen converts to create real energy, again and
again.
Neutrinos are the produced particles with little
mass and no charge.
They can penetrate lead and aren't considered
large.
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17. Energetic particles travel near the speed of
light.
These are known as cosmic rays and can really be a
sight.
They can be emitted by the Sun and from distant
sources,
And penetrate the Earth in short distances with
their forces.
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18. Solar seismology is the study of waves
moving through the Sun.
Their movement is similar to earthquakes but no
damage is done.
The surface of the Sun can rise and fall;
This pattern is detected as the Doppler shift by
one and all.
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19. One strong feature of the Sun is its
magnetic field.
It's 1000 times stronger than Earth's and will not
yield.
It can cause variations of intensity,
As well as, in temperature sensitivity.
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20. The variations of intensity are indicated by
sunspots.
They appear due to cooler gases making darker
dots.
Another magnetic disturbance is known as a solar
flare.
It's a brief and bright eruption, that is not
rare.
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21. The heat flow in a magnetic field can be
reduced,
And from cooler gas prominences are produced.
Due to less pressure inside and hotter gas
outside,
Huge, glowing plumes, shaped like an arc, can
abide.
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22. Solar wind is an outflow of hot, low density
gases.
It flows from the upper solar atmosphere and then
passes.
Carried along are small bits of material, lost from
the Sun.
When gas and blowing dust combine, the comet's tail
is done.
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23. The Zeeman effect is a physical process of a
magnetic field,
This causes the spectrum lines to split and to
yield.
They become 1, 2, 3 or more components and are
committed.
The electron orbits and light waves altered when
emitted.
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24. There is a solar cycle that can change from
year to year.
The activity of sunspots and solar flares is
tracked here.
Due to differential rotation their numbers rise and
fall,
And so the cycle period of 11 years is known to one
and all.
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25. Now, between 1645 and 1715 there were few
sunspots;
However, before and after there were lots and
lots.
The solar cycle just switched off, a man
insisted,
So the Maunder minimum is how the period is
listed.
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26. Well, we're at the end of this rap and it's
time to go,
But we've learned that the Sun can really put on a
show.
There are still a lot of things not really known
yet,
So, for now, just sit back and enjoy a beautiful
sunset.
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