Name: Raven St. ClairMake sure you cite the sources you use. Don’t forget to use your notes and other items in the module if you need help. Type responses in med. blue, bold font.

16.3 Solar Activity Study Guide16.3 Solar Activity Study Guide

1) Find a picture of the sun’s layers online. Cite the source – full URL. Copy/Paste the sun below.

http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/171926main_heliolayers_label_lg.jpg 2) Explain the following properties or characteristics of the sun:

a. Core: center of the sun, hot and dense, where nuclear fusion is madeb. Radiative Zone: where energy is transported to outer layers by

photonsc. Convective Zone: where energy is transported by large bulks of gas

through convection to outer cooler layersd. Photosphere: "light sphere" where photons make it to spacee. Chromospere: thin, pink layer seen in solar eclipses where

temperature rises away from the photospheref. Corona: very hot crown that can be seen around the moon during a

total solar eclipse

3) How do sunspots work? They occur where Sun's magnetic field rises from below Sun's surface and poke through. They are darker and cooler than the area around it. They can last for days or weeks. Sunspots can affect Earth a little in ways such as the power plants, knocking out satellites, and creating auroras. Find a picture, copy/paste it here and cite the source.

http://www.exploratorium.edu/sunspots/images/active2.jpg 4) What is a prominence? An eruption of gas on the Sun's surface hundreds

of thousands of miles into space that are caused by strong magnetic fields and may last for months. How does this differ from a flare? They are much stronger than flares. Flares only last for a few seconds or minutes and don't go as far out in the universe as prominences do. Find a picture, copy/paste it here and cite the source.

http://cdn.recomparison.com/images/community/topics/1299/129907222011135819.jpg

5) How does an aurora work? Auroras are caused solar winds that come close enough to Earth's atmosphere to brush up against it and spiral down into it. The gases from the solar winds light up when they hit Earth, forming the aurora. Find a picture, copy/paste it here and cite the source.

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0710/aurora_kuenzli_big.jpg