Earth Science: The Sun: Vocabulary

Front 1

a pointed jet of gases from the top of the sun's chromosphere extending into the corona

Back 1

spicule

Front 2

a subatomic particle emitted by the sun that travels at the speed of light

Back 2

neutrino

Front 3

the visible surface of the sun

Back 3

photosphere

Front 4

the horizontal distance from one wave crest to the next

Back 4

wavelength

Front 5

an eclipse in which the moon passes between the sun and the earth

Back 5

solar eclipse

Front 6

an instrument which separates light into its component wavelengths, permitting an identification of the elements in the light source

Back 6

spectroscope

Front 7

a severe, suddenly occurring storm on the sun that emits both rays and particles which can disrupt radio transmissions on the earth

Back 7

solar flare

Front 8

high-speed particles, mostly protons and electrons, traveling outward from the sun's corona

Back 8

solar wind

Front 9

the light outer part of a sunspot or shadow

Back 9

penumbra

Front 10

a form of energy which includes visible light, ultraviolet, infrared, and x-rays

Back 10

electromagnetic waves

Front 11

the dark inner part of a sunspot

Back 11

umbra

Front 12

a cell in the sun's photosphere thought to result from convection currents bringing up heated gases from beneath the surface

Back 12

granule

Front 13

relatively small, cooler dark area on the sun's surface believed to be associated with the sun's magnetic field

Back 13

sunspot

Front 14

a state of matter formed at extremely hot temperatures

Back 14

plasma

Front 15

to remove electrons from atoms or to add electrons to atoms

Back 15

ionize

Front 16

the galaxy in which the sun is located

Back 16

Milky Way

Front 17

the edge of the sun's disk

Back 17

limb

Front 18

the layer of gases that forms the inner part of the sun's atmosphere

Back 18

chromosphere

Front 19

an instrument used to observe the corona of the sun by making an artificial eclipse

Back 19

coronagraph

Front 20

the innermost part of the sun where thermonuclear reactions generate energy

Back 20

core

Front 21

a small, waferlike device which converts sunlight directly into electricity

Back 21

solar cell

Front 22

a series of thousands of microscopic lines ruled or molded onto a transparent surface which are tiny enough to interfere with light waves to produce a spectrum

Back 22

diffraction grating

Front 23

the extensive outer portion of the solar atmosphere

Back 23

corona

Front 24

the outermost layer of the sun's interior, composed of hot gases

Back 24

convective zone

Front 25

streams of material that rise into and fall from the sun's corona

Back 25

prominence

Front 26

a calendar which ignores the lunar cycle

Back 26

solar calendar

Front 27

the middle region of the sun's interior where heat moves outward from the core by radiation

Back 27

radiative zone