Main content
Course: NOVA Labs > Unit 1
Lesson 4: The Sun and solar storms- Anatomy of the Sun
- Anatomy of the sun quiz
- The Sun's energy
- The Sun's energy quiz
- The dynamic Sun
- The dynamic Sun quiz
- Solar wind and storms
- Solar wind and storms quiz
- Earth's magnetic shield
- Earth's magnetic shield quiz
- The threat to earth
- The threat to Earth quiz
- The electromagnetic spectrum
- The electromagnetic spectrum quiz
- Solar space telescopes
- Solar space telescopes quiz
- How can I study the Sun?
- Introducing NOVA's Sun Lab
© 2024 Khan AcademyTerms of usePrivacy PolicyCookie Notice
Anatomy of the Sun
It might look like a solid object, but the Sun is very different from Earth. Find out what it's made of, and how reactions inside the Sun generate all that energy and drive powerful solar storms. Created by NOVA.
Want to join the conversation?
If we can't see inside the sun, how do we know what is in it?(16 votes)
We might find the answer through future technology.(4 votes)
I know this isn't exactly on topic, but how far does the Sun's gravitational pull reach? At what point is an object not affected by the Sun's gravity?(4 votes)
To get to the point where the sun is no longer the most significant gravitational body, you'd need to get about 2 light years away toward Alpha Centauri, at which point its gravitational influence will start to exceed the Sun's.
However, as gravity travels at the speed of light, you would need to get beyond the point where the expansion of the Universe is faster than the speed of light to be able to say that there is absolutely no gravitational influence of the Sun on an object.(8 votes)
At1:45, the video states that photons from the core take 10,000 years to escape the radiative zone. Why does it take so long, and why is there still so much energy that gets though after that time?(5 votes)
since the sun is so dense, the photons have to bounce around those atoms, until it finally escapes.(4 votes)
It says that the chemical contents of the sun are:
91.2% Hydrogen
8.7% Helium
0.078% Oxygen
0.043% Carbon
0.0088% Nitrogen
They all need to add up to 100% right? But, they all add up to 100.0298%. Deeply questioned...(3 votes)- The .0298% is a margin for error due to the constant nuclear activity in the sun. It is not possible to identify perfectly the composition because it's always changing just a little.(6 votes)
- The narrator referred to the nuclear fusion in the core as "burning" at about 15 million degrees and that the sun's surface is "burning" as well. Why? There is no burning; there is fusion and radiation of the energy generated by the fusion process.(3 votes)
- Burning does not necessarily specify something on fire. It can also refer to intense sources of heat.(6 votes)
is there any hot planet or hot stars than the sun(3 votes)
In our miniscule area of the universe, there are no known planets hotter than the Sun. If we journey outside of the Solar System, however, we would find an INFINITE number of stars as hot as or hotter than our Sun. This is because our universe is constantly expanding, and there is no end in sight.(2 votes)
i still cant find out what a anatomy is...(3 votes)- Anatomy is the study of inner parts of an object. The anatomy of the sun is what the sun is made of and how the sun works. The anatomy of us humans would be how we work and what we are composed of.(2 votes)
- how sound of the sun is recorded as the frequency of sound of sun is unimaginable(3 votes)
- How did scientists find the two atmospheric layers?(2 votes)
- By looking at the sun in different wave lenghts of light.(2 votes)
- can we see in the sun? and how will get burned if we get to close(2 votes)
We can see inside the sun because we can take the light emitted and match the wavelengths.
The sun is full of energy and that energy is millions of Celsius, so it is easy to get burned if the earth is any closer.(2 votes)
1:45