The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow Quiz

Answer: Aristarchus of Samos

Aristarchus of Samos (c. 310-230 BCE) developed the first known heliocentric model, with Earth revolving around the Sun once a year, and rotating on its axis once per day. He also suspected the stars were very far away, but was unable to determine any mathematical proofs of this without telescopes.

Before Aristarchus, Eudoxus of Cnidus (c. 400-350 BCE), who was a student of Plato, proposed a geocentric model.

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) formulated his own heliocentric model, and it is believed that he did so independently of the previous model by Aristarchus.

With his observations using the recently invented telescope, Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was able to prove that a heliocentric model was correct.

Answer: Nuclear fusion

In the core of the Sun, hydrogen is converted into helium by a process called nuclear (proton-proton) fusion. It takes four hydrogen atoms to fuse into each helium atom by this means. Of course, in the process, some energy is released - enough to give heat and light to our planet 150 million km (93 million mi) away.

Answer: White

The Sun is, in fact, white but, due to an effect called atmospheric Rayleigh scattering, it can appear yellow, orange or red, especially at sunrise and at sunset.

Rayleigh scattering was named for Lord Rayleigh (John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh of Terling Place), a Nobel prize-winning scientist who lived from 1842 to 1919. He described the phenomenon in an 1871 paper.

The Encyclopedia Britannica describes it thus: "The angle through which sunlight in the atmosphere is scattered by molecules of the constituent gases varies inversely as the fourth power of the wavelength; hence, blue light, which is at the short wavelength end of the visible spectrum, will be scattered much more strongly than will the long wavelength red light. This results in the blue colour of the sunlit sky, since, in directions other than toward the Sun, the observer sees only scattered light."

Interestingly, the Sun actually emits strongest in the green part of the spectrum, but it also does so strongly in all the visible colors - red through blue (400nm to 600nm). Our eyes, which have three color cone cell receptors, report to the brain that each color receptor is completely saturated with significant colors being received at all visible wavelengths. Our brains then integrate these signals into a perceived white color. (NASA explanation)

Answer: 1.4 million km (870,000 mi)

Yeah, the Sun is pretty big. I mean, it has 99.86 percent of the mass of the entire solar system!

The formula for volume is 4/3 x π x r^3.

So for Earth it that works out to 1.08×10^12 km3 (2.6×10^11 cu mi), which sounds like a big number, but 1,321 Earths can fit into the volume of Jupiter, which sits at 1.43×10^15 km3 (3.43×10^14 cu mi).

The Sun's diameter is estimated at 1.39 million km, with its volume at a whopping 1.41×10^18 km3, meaning that approximately 1,000 Jupiters could fit into the Sun, or 1.3 million Earths!

Answer: sunspots

Sunspots are areas on the photosphere of the Sun where concentrations of magnetic flux inhibit convection, causing the areas to have a reduced temperature. Keep in mind that we are still dealing with temperatures of around 3,500 deg. Celsius (6,300 deg. Fahrenheit), which is cool in comparison to the typical surface temperature of about 5,500 deg. Celsius (10,000 deg. Fahrenheit).

Answer: Thermosphere

There are technically four parts to the atmosphere of the Sun. The three main parts are the photosphere (the visible surface of the Sun, which is about 400 km (250 mi) thick, the chromosphere (between 400 km (250 mi) and 2,100 km (1,300 mi) above the surface, and the corona, which begins at about that 2,100 km (1,300 mi) distance.

The fourth layer is called the 'transition zone' and it lies between the chromosphere and the corona. It is about 100 km (60 mi) thick, and marks where the temperature suddenly shoots up from about 7,700 to 500,000 deg. Celsius (14,000 to 900,000 deg. Fahrenheit).

Typically, when using the term, the thermosphere is the part of Earth's atmosphere that is directly above the mesosphere and below the exosphere. Other planets also have a multi-layer atmosphere, including a thermosphere layer.

Answer: Aurora australis

Also known as the polar lights, auroras can occur in both the Northern (aurora borealis) or Southern (aurora australis) hemispheres. They occur when a stream of charged particles is released from the Sun's corona by means of a solar flare and strikes Earth's atmosphere. This is called 'solar wind,' which can travel at speeds of up to 250 to 750 km/s (155 to 465 mi/s).

Answer: True

Solar flares are defined as " an intense localized eruption of electromagnetic radiation in the Sun's atmosphere" (according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). They occur in active regions (of strong and complex magnetic fields), and are often accompanied by coronal mass ejections and other solar phenomena (like sunspots or solar winds).

Flares affect all layers of the solar atmosphere, with the plasma being superheated to millions of Kelvins (up to as high as 100 million), and emitting electromagnetic radiation across the spectrum at all wavelengths.

Answer: Summer solstice

Earth has a tilt of 23.4 degrees, compared to the plane of its orbit around the Sun. Thus, as Earth revolves around the Sun, the portion of the planet that receives the direct rays shifts. The vernal and autumnal equinoxes occur on or near March 21st and September 21st, when the Sun is shining directly on the equator.

The tropic of Cancer (23.4 deg. N) and the tropic of Capricorn (23.4 deg. S) are the northern and southern limits of this effect. When the Sun shines directly on the tropic of Cancer, the Northern hemisphere has summer (summer solstice), and the Southern hemisphere experiences winter (winter solstice). And vice versa when the Sun shines directly on the tropic of Capricorn.

And, of course, this tilt also results in portions of Earth receiving 24 hours of light (above the Arctic circle during the Northern Hemisphere's summer solstice) or 24 hours of darkness (below the Antarctic circle)... and vice versa.

Answer: King Tides

When the Sun is aligned with the Moon in relation to Earth, they combine to have the strongest gravitational pull on the planet, which affects the moveable surface (oceans, etc) as shown in the photo. Add in the rotation of Earth, and tides tend to be at their fullest about two weeks following a full or new moon.

These are referred to as 'spring' tides. The effect is increased when the Moon is in the new or full moon position while being at its perigee in relation to Earth (the closest point of its elliptical orbit). This is referred to as a perigean spring tide.

And, Earth also follows an elliptical orbit around the Sun, experiencing perihelion (the closest approach to the Sun) on or near January 2nd. King tides happen at that time of year, and vary depending on the other factors mentioned.