Astronomy - Solar System
The sun forms part of the solar system. Astronomists believe that the sun and the solar system were formed through a process of solar nebula. Through this process, massive clouds of gas and dust were in rotation. Due to gravity, the nebula lapsed and flattened into a disk. Most of its materials were pulled to the center of the sun. The theory of stellar structures and evolution gives a good prediction on the basic observable properties of both the sun and similar stars. The properties also include the luminosity and the radius.
The interior of the solar system is made of the core, the radiative and the convective zone. The core extends from the sun’s center to its surface. It nearly forms half of its mass and a small part of its volume. The radiative zone extends from its core. It constitutes to both its mass and volume. Light from the core gets scattered in this zone. The convection zone reaches up to the surface of the sun. The name convection zone originates from the “convection cells” of gas that dominates this zone (Lattimer and Prakash, 2007: 109-165).
The sun’s activities are similar to that of other stars. This is primarily defined by mass, age, rotation, and chemical composition. Due to the magnetic field, the “sun-like” stars follow an evolutionary and periodic timeline. This does not depend on conditions like the initial angular momentum. As a star, the sun rotates on its axis causing time variations. The sun differs from the other stars in mass and age.
The chemical composition of the stars is similar to that of the sun. Most stars are largely composed of hydrogen and helium. The sun is also composed of the same constituents though with slight variations (Lattimer and Prakash, 2007: 109-165). The stars with heavy elements close to that of the sun are termed as “population 1 stars”. The ones with light elements and distant from it are called population 11 stars”. The “population 1 stars” were formed after some enrichment of gas clouds between stars had taken place. The term “sun-like” is used to refer to those stars that share close properties to the sun. The term also assumes that the sun is a normal star to be valid.
During their lifetime, the stars continually undergo a process of nucleosynthesis. The stars burn lighter elements into heavier ones in this process. Massive stars also evolve beyond the point of burning helium into beryllium. This is after all hydrogen has been used up as a fuel. The sun also goes through a similar process. It continually burns hydrogen into helium. In this cycle, nuclear fusions are dominant. Four hydrogen nuclei combine with one helium nucleus. This process results in gamma rays and radiation of neutrons. The gamma rays then lose energy in the form of visible light. The neutrons escape at the speed of light while the helium stays at its core. The evolution of the sun structure and the magnetic field is the same as the stars. For instance, the sun uses magnetic activities for coronal emissions.
The white dwarfs form the largest number of stars. The term ‘dwarf’ usually indicates that in the range of luminous the stars shrink and rank relatively low. They formed the star that is consuming the last of the fuel in nuclear fusions. The stars shed off their interstellar space into the surroundings. Thermal conductivity is important in completing the formation of this group of stars. When the temperature gradient is steep, convection becomes the dominant mode of energy transportation (Roxburgh, 2004: 23-36). In solar mass stars, which include the sun, the nuclei fusion occurs. This process makes the stars shine. At the end of this stage, only the dense core of the star remains. The core contains half the masses of the sun. For the white dwarfs to form, usually there is no more nuclear fuel to generate energy. This prohibits the capacity to fuse elements. Finally, the stars cool off. Compared to the sun, the white dwarfs behave differently as the sun does not go through a cooling process.
The dwarfs are white in color although they redden as they continue to cool. At some point, they turn blue. In this sense, the sun is also a dwarf star. The dwarf will continue to cool forever with no additional change to their structures. Similarly, the sun does not change its spherical shape. The white dwarfs mostly comprise of products of nuclei fusions. They are remnants of waste products of these reactions. These products contain traces of carbon and oxygen. This makes them shine. The outer parts are mostly made of helium and hydrogen. The sun also poses the same composition of elements though not in the wasteful form.
There is a gravitational force that is responsible for the formation of dwarf stars. The dense materials usually sink deeply into their cores while the lighter elements reside on the outside. The components of these stars are usually distant from the earth. This makes them too faint to be visible. This situation makes them not be responsible for microlensing effects.
The neutron star is a remnant of the gravitational collapse of a massive star. This happens in specific types in the supernova event. It is mostly composed of neutrons with a relative number of subatomic particles. These particles are lighter in mass than protons. There is no electrical charge in them too though the neutron stars are very hot (Prialnik, 2000). Quantum degeneracy pressure supports them against further collapse. In this principle, no two or more neutrons can occupy the same place.
A typical neutron has a corresponding mass to its radius. This has a contrast to that of the sun. The sun’s radius is 60,000 times larger than that of a neutron. Their overall densities compare to that of an atomic nucleus. The neutron stars are with very high rotational speed, but it gradually slows down. Similarly, the sun rotates resulting in days and nights although with time variances.
There is a gravitational field that acts as a gravitational lens. It bends the radiations emitted by the stars. It makes the invisible rear part of the surface become visible. The sun’s gravity works the same way. When the surface is visible, it is during the day. When the radiations emitted are invisible, it is the nighttime (Prialnik, 2000).
The temperature inside the neutron falls with large emissions of huge numbers of neutrinos. This is facilitated by the neutrinos carrying away much of the energy. When the neutron stays radiant in the visible spectrum, they appear white. Neutrons have been observed to have beans of radioactivity and emissions. This is because of the acceleration of particles near its magnetic poles. These emissions are periodically pulsated. The stars emitting them are called pulsars. The sun also emitted light in the form of ultraviolet rays. Most of the neutron stars are members of the binary system caused by the complexity of their formation and evolution.
The composition of the neutron star is very similar to that of the sun. Its surface is ordinarily made of atomic nuclei. Like the dwarf star, its elements are like iron sinks beneath its surface. The lighter nucleus is usually on its surface. When the temperature rises exceedingly, it turns into the fluid; the cooler neutrons maintain they're solid-state.
A newly formed neutron can absorb matters orbiting from companion stars. Ordinary stars, white dwarfs and other forms of neutron stars form the companion stars. This mostly happens during rotation, and when it does, it increases the rotational speed. In the final stages, the neutrons slow down radiating energy. The rotations in connections with magnetic fields complete a revolution. The sun also revolves around its orbit to form seasons. During the process of rotation and cooling down the spherical nature of the star is increased (Roxburgh, 2004: 23-36).
Helioseismology can be defined as the study of wave oscillation and propagations. In particular, it deals with the aural pressure waves in the sun. In the solar system, there is a lack of sheer components conveyed to the external photosphere of the sun. The assimilation of radiant energy from the nucleus fusion happens at the central point of the sun leading to the generation of light (Fiorentini, Ricci, and Villante, 2000: 116-122).
This study helps in understanding that there are changes that occur in oscillation waves through the sun. It allows in developing detailed properties of the sun’s interior conditions. It negates the likelihood that the solar neutrino issues resulted from wrong models of the internal components of the sun. It features that the outer convective and inner radiations zone radiate differently in speed, magnetic field and by a dynamo effect.
The study aids in understanding that the connective layers have constituents made up of plasma. To be precise: torsional oscillations. These time variations occur rotating differently in the solar system. It reveals that the inner zones rotate both uniformly and differently. These zones rotate with respect to radiations and convective zones.
Helioseismology revolves around solar waves. It gives the revelation that the acoustic wave deep in the sun depends on its composition in relation to the core of the sun. As the sun continues with nucleus fusing, its abundance is useful for deducing the sun’s age. Numerical models of solar evolution support this. This study gives a boost to the stellar evolution theory. It gives additional information on binary systems and their implications to the solar system (Basu and Antia, 2008: 217-283).
In this field of study, full interpretation of the wavefield is visible at the surface both in modes and in frequencies. It fully provides a three-dimension perspective of the center of the solar. This is crucial in understanding magnetic flows, large-scale flows, and their interaction.
Solar neutrinos are produced also in nuclear fusions. The relation to the interior composition of the sun is enhanced in the study of standard solar models (Bahcall, Basu, Pinsonneault and Serenelli, 2005: 1049). Based on the idea that neutrino oscillations can cause changes, it helps in addressing neutrino problems. The study also gives a prediction on the energy spectrum. It helps to know how different neutrino experiments and detections are sensitive to energy spectrums.
The solar system is a field that is fully interesting. Scientists should provide journals and magazines that revolve around it. The need to address how the sun works oafs a star should be a solved puzzle. It is important to understand the similarities and the differences in its performance well. The focus should not be on the sun alone, but the whole of the solar system. It is also crucial to tackle all its components, for instance, the synthesis on how the moon works, and the different number of planets. Implications of the solar system on humanity should be solved; in conclusion, the solar system should be a continuous subject of learning activity.
