Category Archives: Sun

Awaiting the next Solar Eclipse

In August, I had the great pleasure of beginning the upcoming school year in a very profound, eye opening manner: by gazing at the Solar Eclipse that radiated over the Nashville sky. This natural occurring phenomena was not only beautiful to witness, but also, it spurred my curiosity for eclipses, moon phases, and the Solar … Continue reading Awaiting the next Solar Eclipse Continue reading

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Awaiting the next Solar Eclipse

In August, I had the great pleasure of beginning the upcoming school year in a very profound, eye opening manner: by gazing at the Solar Eclipse that radiated over the Nashville sky. This natural occurring phenomena was not only beautiful to witness, but also, it spurred my curiosity for eclipses, moon phases, and the Solar … Continue reading Awaiting the next Solar Eclipse Continue reading

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Blog 4 – The Sunspot Cycle and Earth’s Climate

For this blog I thought I’d write about how sunspots affect the Earth’s climate, as I am studying environmental sciences and I recently took Professor Gilligan’s Global Climate Change course (highly recommended and it counts for AXLE).  Sunspots are the most interesting feature on the sun’s surface.  They are the dark patches that periodically appear […] Continue reading

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The Sun Is Going To Kill Us

As nuclear fusion depletes a star’s hydrogen supply throughout the phases of stellar evolution, a spherical shell of hydrogen will … More Continue reading

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Nuclear Fusion Powering Earth

The core of the Sun is at such extreme temperature and pressure that in that core hydrogen atoms are constantly fusing into helium and giving off massive amounts of energy. The Sun fuses about 4.25 million metric tonnes of hydrogen every second, which provides a power generation of 3.8 x 10^26 watts. By contrast, the […] Continue reading

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The Solar Wind: Seeing with Eyes Shut

When thinking about outer space at a much more basic level, I remember being taught to think of the word “vacuum.” And as the narrator says in the video I watched, the space between planets is far from empty. A unique aspect of the sun’s weather known as the solar wind fills up some of … More The Solar Wind: Seeing with Eyes Shut Continue reading

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Formation of the Solar System

Approximately 13.8 billion years ago, an interstellar cloud of gas known as the solar nebula collapsed under its own gravity due to some cataclysmic event… Continue reading

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Solar Eclipse in August

This August 21, Nashville, TN will have one of the best views in the United States to view the upcoming solar eclipse.  Middle Tennessee will have around 2 minutes 30 seconds of eclipse and will be right in the path of the total eclipse.  The eclipse will begin at around 1:30 pm, Central Time. This […] Continue reading

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Solar Probe Plus

In 1976, NASA’s Helios 2 spacecraft set the current distance record by orbiting the Sun with a closest approach of 43.4 million kilometers. Even though this is barely inside the orbit of Mercury, the intense heat close to the Sun has previously prevented any closer observation. The Goddard Space flight Center “Living with a Star … Continue reading Solar Probe Plus Continue reading

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Solar Probe Plus

In 1976, NASA’s Helios 2 spacecraft set the current distance record by orbiting the Sun with a closest approach of 43.4 million kilometers. Even though this is barely inside the orbit of Mercury, the intense heat close to the Sun has previously prevented any closer observation. The Goddard Space flight Center “Living with a Star … Continue reading Solar Probe Plus Continue reading

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