Module 6: The Sun

To the inhabitants of Earth, the most important star is the Sun. Without Earth's placement in relation to the Sun, life could not exist on the Earth. Astronomers study the Sun to gain an understanding of this celestial marvel. They want to know how it works and why it changes. In this module, you will explore the parts of the Sun, its nuclear processes, and solar activity. In order to understand how the Sun generates light and heat, you must first investigate the different layers, or parts, of this massive object. Then, you will learn how in the core, or center, of the Sun, a nuclear process called fusion is taking place. Here, hydrogen is fusing into helium and generating a lot of energy. This energy will travel though the other layers and eventually escape the Sun’s gravity.

You may already know this, but the Sun is very active. You might even call the Sun violent. The outer layer of the Sun has cool spots and constant eruptions. These eruptions send energy hurdling toward Earth at high rates of speed. In this module, you will learn how these eruptions can have quite an effect on Earth.

Getting Started

Check to see if you can guess the definitions of vocabulary words associated with the largest object in the Solar System, the Sun. Read each definition and drag and drop the term into the blank provided. Then, click SUBMIT to check your response. Click the playert to get started.

Key Vocabulary

To view the definitions for these key vocabulary terms, visit the course glossary.