Sun

 

Table of Contents:

Color

Temperature

Brightness

Surface/Activity

Mass/Density

Size

Interior and Composition

Location and Motions

History and Evolution

Energy

Atmosphere and Wind

Sunspots

General


 

 

Color

1. Thought Sun is yellow

2. Thought Sun is orange

3. Thought Sun is yellow throughout its volume

4. Thought Sun only emits one color of light

5. Thought Sun is white

6. Thought Sun is red

7. Thought Sun is a combination of red, yellow, and orange

Back to Top

Temperature

1. Thought the Sun is the hottest object in the galaxy

2. Thought the Sun's surface temp is much hotter than it actually is

3. Thought the Sun is hottest on its surface

4. Thought Sun is the hottest star

5. Thought that as the Sun got larger, it will also get hotter

6. Thought it gets continually cooler the higher you get above the photosphere

7. Thought Sun is cooler than it actually is

8. Thought Sun has the same temperature throughout its volume

9. Thought the Sun will continually heat up, forever

10. Thought the Sun's interior is uniform in temperature

11. Thought the Sun is the hottest object in the universe

12. Thought we could not measure the temperature of the Sun because the thermometer would melt

 

Back to Top

Brightness

1. Thought Sun is brightest star

2. Thought the Sun is the brightest object in the universe

2. Thought Sun's surface is perfectly uniform

3. Thought you can look at the Sun and not go blind

 

Back to Top

Surface/Activity

1. Thought solar flares are "popping" of burning gases

2. Thought filaments and prominences are completely different features

3. Thought solar flares are volcanos erupting

4. Thought Sun is an "extraordinary" star

5. Thought the Sun's surface is smooth

6. Thought solar flares are rare

7. Thought we see all of the Sun, not just its "surface"

8. Thought Fusion occurs at the surface of the Sun

9. Thought the Solar wind is caused by comets

10. Thought that ejections from the Sun do not reach the Earth

 

Back to Top

Mass/Density

1. Thought Sun is much denser than the Earth

2. Thought Sun had much less than 99% of the mass in the solar system

3. Thought Sun is much denser than it actually is

4. Thought Sun is gaining mass

5. Thought Sun will remain the same mass forever

6. Thought the Sun was most of the mass in the universe

 

Back to Top

Size

1. Thought Sun is getting smaller (running out of fuel)

2. Thought Sun is smallest star

3. Thought Sun is smaller than it actually is

4. Thought Sun is the largest star

5. Thought Sun is the largest "body"

6. Thought Sun is a giant star

7. Thought Sun will remain same size forever

8. Thought Sun does not lose mass (has no solar wind)

9. Thought Sun is a supergiant

10. Thought there are few stars that are larger than the Sun

 

Back to Top

Interior and Composition

1. Thought the Sun is molten lava

2. Thought the Sun's interior is homogeneous

3. Thought the Sun is just composed of H and He

4. Thought the Sun has terrestrial composition

5. Thought the Sun did not have a magnetic field

6. Thought the Sun is mostly iron

7. Thought the Sun had a solid core

8. Thought the Sun is solid

9. Thought the Sun has a solid surface

10. Thought the Sun is liquid

11. Thought the Sun has more helium than hydrogen

12. Thought the Sun is mostly metal

13. Thought the Sun has only one layer

 

Back to Top

Location and Motions

1. Thought that the Sun doesn't move (through galaxy or because of planet motions)

2. Thought that the Sun doesn't rotate

3. Thought that the Sun rotates rigidly

4. Thought that the Sun it at the center of the Earth's elliptical orbit

5. Thought that the Sun is at center of celestial sphere

6. Thought that the Sun is at center of universe

7. Thought that the Sun is at center of the Milky Way galaxy

8. Thought that the Sun is closer to Earth than it actually is

9. Thought that the Sun is farther away than it actually is

10. Thought that the Sun's highest point in the sky (noon) is called the zenith

11. Thought that the Sun always sets due west

12. Thought that the Sun always rises due east

13. Thought that the Sun pass through all constellations

14. Thought the Sun rotates faster than the Earth

15. Thought the Sun always rises to the same height

16. Thought the Sun is eight million light years away

17. Thought the Sun is the furthest star from Earth

18. Thought the Sun is directly overhead at noon everywhere

19. Thought the Sun is due south wherever it is noontime

 

Back to Top

History and Evolution

1. Thought Sun formed billions of years before the Earth

2. Thought the Sun will burn or last forever

3. Thought Sun is continually getting dimmer

4. Thought after Sun's core is converted to helium, Sun will immediately become a white dwarf, never a red giant

5. Thought Sun will die, go out, and not explode

6. Thought Sun will blow up, become a black hole, and swallow the universe

7. Thought Sun is going to explode as a nova

8. Thought the Sun will explode as a supernova

9. Thought the Sun will blow up with a bigger explosion than it actually will

10. Thought it possible Sun could explode in "near future."

11. Thought Sun will disappear completely after it explodes

12. Thought Sun will burn out in less than 5 billion years

13. Thought Sun will blow up in a billion years

14. Thought the Sun will never expand

15. Thought the Sun will become a black hole

16. Thought the Sun will disappear by burning up all of it fuel

17. Thought the Sun will get smaller as it uses its fuel

18. Thought the Sun will turn into water (by burning Hydrogen)

19. Thought the Sun formed at the big bang

Back to Top

Energy

1. Thought the Sun is "burning" or is "on" fire

2. Thought the Sun is a "heat" planet

3. Thought Sun's energy is created on its surface

4. Thought the Sun is the only source of light in the galaxy -- Sunlight reflects off planets and stars so we can see them

5. Thought solar radiation rate is constant throughout the years (no Sunspot cycle)

6. Thought photons escape from the Sun's core more quickly than they actually do

7. Thought Sun's energy is due to explosions

8. Thought the Sun fuses Helium ® Carbon

9. Thought Sun's light is due to explosions on its surface

10. Thought the Sun emits only visible light

11. Thought the Sun output more energy than any other object in the universe

12. Thought the Sun's light is reflected light

13. Thought the Sun only emits visible and UV radiation

14. Thought the Sun initially produces visible light

 

Back to Top

Atmosphere and Wind

1. Thought the solar wind is a strong wind that blows all over the universe

2. Though the solar wind is intermittent, not continuous, albeit variable

3. Thought solar wind is a dense wind like we experience here on Earth

4. Thought solar wind is like wind on Earth

5. Thought Sun loses significant matter via solar wind

6. Thought solar wind is composed of photons

7. Thought the Sun has no atmosphere

8. Thought the photosphere is the atmosphere

9. Thought the solar wind comes from asteroids

 

Back to Top

Sunspots

1. Thought Sunspots are hotter places on Sun, not cooler

2. Thought Sunspots indicate that the Sun is getting cooler each year and will eventually become too cool to support life

3. Thought the Sunspot cycle is 11 years

4. Thought Sunspots are permanent

5. Thought Sunspots occur randomly

6. Thought Sunspots are where meteors crash (or are craters) into the Sun

7. Thought Sunspots are optical illusions due to staring at the Sun

8. Thought Sunspots are blemishes on photographs

9. Thought Sunspots are just "discolorations" to the Sun's surface

10. Thought Sunspots are regions of high temperature

11. Thought Sunspots are regions of soot on the Sun

12. Thought Sunspots are black regions on the Sun

13. Thought Sunspots are volcanic in origin

14. Thought Sunspots are explosions on the Sun's surface

15. Thought Sunspots are mythical

16. Thought Sunspots are storms on the Sun's surface

17. Thought Sunspots are regions with more gas than normal

18. Thought Sunspots are cool regions of the Sun's surface (without magnetic fields)

19. Thought Sunspots occur on an Earth season based cycle

20. Thought Sunspots are an increase of material on the Sun

21. Thought Sunspots are holes on the surface of the Sun

22. Thought Sunspots are intensely bright regions

23. Thought Sunspots are firestorms

24. Thought there is no Sunspot cycle

25. Thought Sunspots are regions of the universe that affect the Sun

26. Thought Sunspots are places on the Sun that have run out of fuel to burn

27. Thought Sunspots are stationary

28. Thought Sunspots are spots on the skin darkened by the Sun

 

Back to Top

General

1. Thought the Sun is a specific type of astronomical body with its own properties. It is not a star

2. Thought the Sun is a bunch of stars

3. Thought the Sun is closest planet

4. Thought the Sun is held together by some force other than gravity

5. Thought the Sun is spherical

6. Thought the Sun is a planet

7. Thought the Sun is a chunk of plasma that is blowing up

8. Thought the Sun is a white dwarf

9. Thought we see the core of the Sun

10. Thought the photosphere is the outermost layer

11. Thought the Sun's light reaches us instantly

12. Thought that it is never dangerous to look at the Sun

 

Back to Top


Home - Solar System - Misconceptions Main Page