Our nearest star
The sun is the hottest place in the solar system, so the question is, what is its temperature? The temperature on the surface of the Sun is approximately 5800 Kelvin, but in the center, the temperature reaches 15 million Kelvin. Why is this happening?
What is the Sun
It is a large plasma ball of hydrogen, held together by the mutual attraction of all its mass. This huge mass of hydrogen presses on the underlying layers, so with increasing depth, the pressure increases. If you could go down to the very core of the Sun, then in its very center, you would see that the pressure and temperature are sufficient to start nuclear fusion reactions. This is the process in which protons combine to form helium atoms.
It only happens at high temperatures and under incredible pressure. The merging process highlights a large number of energy and gamma radiation.
Mysterious "tornadoes" on the surface of the Sun
The pressure of the gas in the core, heated to enormous temperatures, causes it to expand, while the process of even greater compression stops. In fact, it is in such a state when the pressure of the overlying layers is balanced by the pressure of the heated gas. The sun is in perfect balance.
Gravity tries to compress it as much as possible into a small ball, and this creates favorable conditions for nuclear fusion.
The surface temperature of the Sun is determined by analyzing solar spectrum. Known to be the source of energy for all natural processes on Earth, therefore, scientists have quantified the heating of various parts of our star.
The intensity of radiation in separate color parts of the spectrum corresponds to a temperature of 6000 degrees. This is the temperature of the surface of the Sun or the photosphere.
In outer layers solar atmosphere- in the chromosphere and in the corona - a higher temperature is observed. In the corona, it is approximately one to two million degrees. Over the places of strong outbreaks, the temperature for a short time can reach even fifty million. Due to the high heating in the corona above the flare, the intensity of X-ray and radio emission strongly increases.
Calculations of the heating of our star
Despite the fact that no photon penetrates from the interior of the Sun, we can calculate the temperature at any point in the interior of the star. more or less known to scientists by calculations. Calculations show that the deeper one penetrates into the interior, the higher the plasma heats up.
The temperature rises from 6000 in the photosphere to 13 million degrees in the center.
We know that the higher a substance is heated, the faster its particles move. For example, in the photosphere, protons and hydrogen atoms move at a speed of about 7 km/sec, while light electrons move at a speed of 300 km/sec. In the corona and in the hot solar center, the speed of protons is about 350 km / s, and electrons - 15,000 km / s.
The most low temperature on the Sun is observed in the region of sunspots. Large spots are heated below 4000 C. The radiation of 1 m 2 of the white photosphere surrounding the spot from 6000 degrees is approximately 5 times more intense than the radiation of 1 m 2 of the spot itself. For this reason, the spots appear dark or even black to us.
Any body that has fallen into the Sun at the very short term decomposes into individual atoms, from which electrons are separated. On a star, matter can exist only in the form of plasma.
The transformation of hydrogen into helium as a thermonuclear reaction
The sun heats up and radiates heat due to the thermonuclear reaction taking place inside.
A thermonuclear reaction occurs when heavier elements are formed from lighter elements. It happens only when high pressure and heating. Therefore, the reaction is called thermonuclear. 
The most important process occurring on the Sun is the conversion of hydrogen into helium. It is this process that is the source of all the energy of the Sun.
The solar core is very dense and very hot. Violent collisions of electrons, protons, and other nuclei often occur. Sometimes the collisions of protons are so swift that, having overcome the force of electrical repulsion, they approach each other at a distance of their own diameter. At this distance begins to act nuclear power, due to which protons combine with the release of energy.
Four protons are gradually combined into a helium nucleus, with two protons turning into neutrons, two positive charge are released in the form of positrons and two imperceptible neutral particles appear - neutrinos. When they meet electrons, both positrons turn into gamma-ray photons (annihilation).
The rest energy of a helium atom is less than the rest energy of four hydrogen atoms.
The difference in masses turns into gamma photons and neutrinos. The total energy of all the resulting gamma photons and two neutrinos is 28 MeV. Scientists were able to get thermonuclear energy synthesis on Earth by creating an experimental reactor. 
In the center of the star, a huge number of such transformations take place. At the same time, approximately half a billion tons (more precisely, 567 million tons) of hydrogen is converted into helium. At the same time, there is only 562.8 million tons of helium, which is 4.2 million tons less. It is this loss of mass that turns into solar in 1 second.
This is the amount of energy the Sun radiates in one second. This value represents the power of solar radiation.
There are many small and big stars. And if we talk about the inhabitants of the Earth, then the most important star for them is the Sun. It consists of 70% hydrogen and 28% helium, with metals accounting for less than 2%.
If not for the Sun, perhaps there would be no life on Earth. Our ancestors knew how much their life and life depended on the heavenly body, worshiped and deified it. The Greeks called the sun Helios, while the Romans called it Sol.
The sun has a huge impact on our lives. This is a huge incentive to study how changes occur within this " fireball", and how these changes may affect us now and in the future. Numerous scientific studies give us an opportunity to look into the distant past of the planet. The sun is about 5 billion years old. In 4 billion years, it will shine much brighter than now. In addition to increasing luminosity and size over many billions of years, the Sun changes over shorter periods of time.
Such a period of change as the solar cycle is known, at the moments of which minima and maxima are observed. Due to observations over several decades, it has been established that an increase in the light activity and size of the Sun, which began in the distant past, exists now. Over the past few cycles, light activity has increased by about 0.1%. These changes, whether they are rapid or gradual, certainly have a huge impact on earthlings. However, the mechanisms of this influence have not yet been fully studied.
The temperature of the Sun at the center of the star is very high, about 14 billion degrees. Thermonuclear reactions take place in the core of the planet, i.e. pressure fission reactions of hydrogen nuclei, resulting in the release of one helium nucleus and a huge amount of energy. As we go deeper inward, the temperature of the Sun should increase rapidly. It can only be determined theoretically.
The temperature of the sun in degrees is:
- corona temperature - 1,500,000 degrees;
- core temperature - 13500000 degrees;
- The temperature of the Sun in Celsius at the surface is 5726 degrees.
A large number of scientists from different countries make research on the structure of the Sun, try to recreate the process of thermonuclear fusion in terrestrial laboratories. This is done in order to find out how plasma behaves in real conditions, in order to repeat these conditions on Earth. The sun is, in fact, the largest natural laboratory.
The Sun's atmosphere, about 500 km thick, is called the photosphere. Due to convection processes in the planet's atmosphere, heat flows from low layers move into the photosphere. The sun rotates, but not in the same way as the Earth, Mars ... The sun is basically a non-solid body.
Similar effects of the rotation of the Sun are observed in gaseous planets. Unlike the Earth, the layers on the Sun have different rotation speeds. The equator rotates the fastest, rotating one revolution in about 25 days. As you move away from the equator, the rotation speed decreases, and somewhere at the poles of the Sun, rotation takes about 36 days. The power of the Sun is about 386 billion megawatts. Every fraction of a second, about 700 million tons of hydrogen become 695 million tons of helium and 5 million tons of energy in the form of gamma rays. Due to the fact that the temperature of the Sun is so high, the reaction of the transition of hydrogen into helium is successfully going on.
The sun also emits a stream of low density charged particles (mainly protons and electrons). This stream is called the solar wind, which spreads throughout the solar system at a speed of about 450 km/sec. Streams continuously flow from the Sun into space, respectively, and towards the Earth. The solar wind carries a deadly threat to all life on our planet. Can have dramatic effects on the Earth, from power line surges, radio interference, to beautiful auroras. If our planet did not exist magnetic field life would end in a matter of seconds. The magnetic field creates an impenetrable barrier for fast charged particles of the solar wind. In the regions of the north pole, the magnetic field is directed inward of the Earth, due to which the accelerated particles of the solar wind penetrate much closer to the surface of our planet. Therefore, at the north pole, we observe the polar solar wind can also cause danger by interacting with the earth's magnetosphere. This phenomenon is said to have a strong impact on people's health. These reactions are especially noticeable in the elderly.
The solar wind is not all that the Sun can do to us. The luminaries that often occur on the surface represent a great danger. Flares emit a huge amount of ultraviolet and X-ray radiation, which is directed towards the Earth. These radiations are completely capable of absorbing the earth's atmosphere, but they carry a great danger to all objects in space. Radiation can be harmful artificial satellites, stations and other space technology. Also, radiation adversely affects the health of astronauts working in outer space.
Since its inception, the Sun has already used up about half of the hydrogen in its core, and will continue to radiate for another 5 billion years, gradually increasing in size. After this period of time, the remaining hydrogen in the core of the star will be completely exhausted. By this time the sun will reach its maximum dimensions and will increase in diameter by about 3 times (compared to the current value). It will resemble a red giant. Part of the planets close to the Sun will burn up in its atmosphere. The Earth will be among them. By then, humanity will have to find a new planet to inhabit. After that, the temperature of the Sun will begin to fall and, having cooled down, it will turn over time into However, this is all a matter of a very distant future ...
The sun is a star that generates heat as a result of thermonuclear reactions occurring in it to convert hydrogen molecules into an inert gas - helium. The temperature is measured in degrees and different in different layers. Due to the fact that the Earth is at a great distance from the star, we are protected from its sizzling effects. To feel safe, humanity needs to unravel all its secrets.
In contact with
The structure of the luminary
What does the Sun look like and what is it made of? At its core, this is a multilayer plasma-gas sphere, the internal volume of which can be divided into several zones with different composition, properties, behavior and characteristics of matter.
Structure of the Sun can be represented as follows:
- the core is a giant fusion furnace that generates heat and energy in the form of photons. They are the ones who bring light to the earth. The radius of the core does not exceed a quarter of the total radius of the celestial body; the temperature at the center of the sun reaches 14 million Kelvin;
- radiation (radiating) zone, has a thickness of about three hundred thousand kilometers and is characterized high density. Here the energy is slowly p moving towards the surface. In fact, this is the field of thermonuclear fusion;
- the convective zone, where energy moves much faster to the surface or to the photosphere;
- a zone of vortex gases of the solar atmosphere begins above the surface.
Spheres and their features
The photosphere is the thinnest and deepest layer located above the surface of the Sun, it can be observed in the continuous spectrum of visible light. The height of the photosphere is approximately 300 km. The deeper the layer of the photosphere, the hotter it becomes.
The chromosphere is the outer shell surrounding the photosphere. It is approximately 10,000 km thick and has a heterogeneous structure. The corona is the outer and therefore unusually rarefied part of the atmosphere, which can be seen during a total eclipse. It has a temperature of over a million degrees.
The atmosphere is subject to constant resonant oscillations p approximately every 5 minutes. Spreading in upper layers atmosphere, the waves transfer part of the energy to them, the gases of other layers (chromosphere and corona) heat up. That's why top part photosphere on the Sun is the "coldest".
Attention! Density, temperature and pressure inside a giant fusion reactor decrease with distance from the core.
The temperature of the sun in degrees is different in each of its spheres, so the temperature of the Sun on the surface is 5,800 degrees Celsius, solar corona – 1 500 000 , the temperature of the core of the sun is 13,500,000.
Radiation strength
The radiation power is very large: approximately 385 billion megawatts. Almost instantly, 700 million tons of hydrogen are converted into 695 million tons of helium and 5 million tons of gamma rays. because of high temperature stars, the fusion that transforms hydrogen into helium proceeds with the formation of solar energy and the emission of a stream of photons. Such a flow commonly referred to as the solar wind, which propagates at a speed of more than 450 km / s.
Thanks to radiation, life processes on Earth are supported, its climate is determined. Formally, the glow has practically White color, however, approaching earth's surface, becomes yellow shade is the result of light scattering and absorption of the short-wavelength part of the spectrum.
The solar wind has another definition - coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which are a colossal front of radioactive ionized charged particles, directed into the cosmic abyss and incinerating everything in its path.
When the photons get to surface layers, they cause the outer layers of the star to rotate, resulting in powerful magnetic oppositions and shock waves.
Accelerating to incredible speeds, the gases also generate strong magnetic fields, which, as the stars rotate, collide and break out from the surface.
Magnetic waves erupt into outer space oversized loops. Some of these formations are so large that the Earth could pass through them with a huge margin.
A bunch of highly radioactive ionized plasma. This is the KVM. It can damage spacecraft and even threaten the lives of astronauts. Such a killer front sometimes reaches the earth for 16 hours. For comparison: fast spaceship the flight would take years, and solar wind This journey only takes a few hours.
Important! The solar wind is a deadly threat to the existence of all life on our planet. If the Earth did not have a magnetic field that creates an impenetrable barrier for particles, life would be interrupted in a couple of seconds.
emergence
There are different theories about the origin of the sun. Here is one of them. In the boundless space, dust and gas collected for millions of years, under the influence of gravity and pressure, an increase in heat occurred, which led to nuclear fusion and an explosion. First from a huge accumulation of material a star has formed, then nearby planets.
Many people wonder how old our Sun is and how it was formed. The exact age of the star, of course, is impossible to find out. It is believed that the only star in the system appeared 4.57 billion years ago.
There is a hypothesis that the lifetime of a star on the main sequence does not exceed 10 billion years. This means that now it is almost in the middle of its life span and after the expiration of its existence, its glow will become much brighter, and the temperature will drop rapidly, and the star will reach the red giant stage. Then its outer shell will begin to expand, and then lose mass. This can lead to the fact that the surface layers can reach the Earth's orbit.
Disc diameter
Since a star is a ball of gas that rotates, its shape is slightly flattened at the poles. According to scientific research, there are no solid areas on the surface of the sun at all, so the term "diameter" characterizes the size of one of the layers of the atmosphere.
Based on astronomical observations using the optical effect "Bailey's Rosary", this parameter is determined as the diameter of the photosphere - zone radiant energy transfer.
The average radius of the Sun obtained by this method is 695,990 km. Therefore, the diameter of the sun in kilometers is 1,392,000 km.
There is another way to calculate the size of a solar body - using the methods of helioseismology with the study of surface gravitational f-waves formed on the sun.
The data obtained by the "seismic" method show otherwise radius value - 695 700 km, and the diameter of the sun in kilometers is 1,391,400. This value is less than the radius of the photosphere by about 300 km.
Important! Despite slight differences between the two values (about 0.04%), changing the previously set value may lead to overestimation of other parameters, with the exception of density and temperature. .
Rotational speed
A non-solid body rotates in a completely different way than the planets. Different layers of a star have their own rotation speeds. The largest is around the equator, one rotation takes about 25 days. The farther the layer is from the equator, the slower its rotation. So, the poles make one revolution about 36 days. That is why the luminary has millions of magnetic poles, and not two, like our planet.
Attention! Sunrise and sunset in tropical countries close by occurs as if on schedule - at the same time, every day, throughout the year. Therefore, the day in the tropics is divided equally: the duration of the day and night is 12 hours.
The outer shell and its structure
It is customary to call the surface y the outer layers, which are shaken by monstrous force by explosions, eruptions and eruptions. The temperature of the sun in degrees here is 6000 C⁰.
There are many unusual formations on the surface of the Sun. different sizes, the most famous of which are spots - dark colored areas, indicating the places where strong magnetic fields enter the sun's atmosphere. The entire surface of the sun is covered with so-called convective cells.
Attention! Frequent flares occur on the surface of the Sun, accompanied by ejections of high-temperature plasma and gas.
Such solar activity can have Negative consequences for our planet. Moreover, such a process is sudden and unpredictable and can last from several hours to several days. What many people are accustomed to call magnetic storms that negatively affect the human condition.
It is important for scientists to know not only the temperature of the Sun in degrees Celsius and its diameter in kilometers, but also other characteristics in order to track the activity of a celestial star.
The temperature on the surface of the Sun in degrees Celsius averages 5726 degrees, the corona - 1500 thousand and the core 13.5 million degrees.
Today you can watch space weather in online mode, find out what is the temperature of the Sun in degrees. The state of the star has a significant impact on space weather in our system. It is determined by several parameters:
- streams of ionized plasma,
- hard radiation and flashes,
- the strength of the solar wind.
The temperature of different layers of the sun
The structure of the sun and other interesting facts
Conclusion
The development of astronomy made it possible to determine the distant perspective of celestial bodies and facilitated the collection information for weather services. Today, it is possible to explore new planets, the level of Earth's security is growing, and methods are being developed to protect against possible collisions with asteroids and other celestial bodies.
The sun is the center of our solar system, is a special gas ball, in the center of which, during the thermonuclear reactions of the conversion of hydrogen into helium, heat is generated. The released energy leaves the Sun through the visible surface - the turbulent photosphere. The surface temperature of the Sun is different in different regions and layers. Temperature upper layers 5800 degrees Celsius, the temperature of the solar corona is 1,500,000 degrees Celsius, the core temperature is 13,500,000 degrees Celsius. Above the surface of the Sun, there is a complex atmosphere that consists of the photosphere, chromosphere, corona, and solar wind.
Although the ancient Chinese recorded dark formations on the Sun as early as 2,000 years ago, only Galileo realized that these spots move across the surface of the Sun as it rotates and disappear. In 1828, Heinrich Schwabe of Dessau, Germany, was looking for the hypothetical planet Vulcan, which he supposed could exist between the Sun and the Earth. Instead, however, he found that the number of sunspots periodically rises and falls. Average cycle solar activity, determined by the number of sunspots, is 11 years. On Earth, the annual rings of trees are an indicator of the cycle of solar activity.
A typical sunspot consists of a dark shadow surrounded by lighter penumbra, although it is not uncommon for more than one shadow to surround the penumbra. The spots appear when the magnetic field is strengthened, which suppresses the flow of energy outward. In reality, sunspots are not so dark. The shadow is 2000 degrees Celsius cooler than the photosphere and appears dark against brighter nearby regions.
Sunspots can be different shape and sizes, often forming groups. A large group can be 100 thousand km across, which is 8 times larger diameter Earth! Even much smaller sunspots are easy to spot with a small telescope. When observing solar activity, it is necessary to remember about safety precautions.
The structure of the sun. Detailed scheme
With the rotation of the Sun, groups of sunspots move from one edge of the disk to the other in about 10 days. Seeing sunspots is perhaps no less interesting than the night sky. Ironically, the problem of daytime observations is related to the Sun itself. It heats the ground and the air, causing turbulent currents and thereby degrading image quality compared to night conditions.
On video, high resolution, in various shooting modes, you can observe what the Sun looks like, as well as see the processes occurring on the surface:
