Solar Vocab

Solstice

either of the two times in the year, when the sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky at noon, marked by the longest and shortest days.

SOHO

is a spacecraft built by a European industrial consortium led by Matra Marconi Space. They launched this vehicle on December 2, 1995 to study the Sun, and has discovered over 3000 comets as well.

Fusion

the process or result of joining two or more things together to form a single entity.

Solar Flare

A brief eruption of intense high-energy radiation from the sun's surface, associated with sunspots and causing electromagnetic disturbances on the earth, as with radio frequency communications and power line transmissions.

Chromosphere

A reddish gaseous layer immediately above the photosphere of the sun or another star. Together with the corona, it constitutes the star's outer atmosphere.

Sunspot

A spot or patch appearing from time to time on the sun's surface, appearing dark by contrast with its surroundings.

Solar Eclipse

An eclipse in which the sun is obscured by the moon.

SDO

Is a NASA mission which has been observing the Sun since 2010.

Prominence

Is a large, bright, gaseous feature extending outward from the Sun's surface, often in a loop shape.

Corona

Is an aura of plasma that surrounds the sun and other stars.

Coronal Mass Ejections

Is an unusually large release of plasma and magnetic field from the solar corona. They often follow solar flares and are normally present during a solar prominence eruption. The plasma is released into the solar wind.

Fission

The action of dividing or splitting something into two or more parts.

Solar Wind

The continuous flow of charged particles from the sun that permeates the solar system.

Radiation

The emission of energy as electromagnetic waves or as moving subatomic particles, especially high-energy particles that cause ionization.

Photosphere

The luminous envelope of a star from which its light and heat radiate.

Magnetosphere

The region surrounding the earth or another astronomical body in which its magnetic field is the predominant effective magnetic field.

Sun

The star around which the earth orbits.