Astronomy in Yosemite
The Sun
The sun is a star located at the center of the universe, and without it, there would be no life on Earth. It is the most important source of energy for humans as it provides us light, heat, and more. It can reach surface temperatures of about 5,276 degrees Celsius, and 10,340 degrees Fahrenheit. The composition of the Sun changes slowly as hydrogen is converted into helium in its core; however, it is currently made up of around 70% hydrogen, 28% helium, and less than 2% of other metals. From satellite images of the sun in space, it appears to be a great, red, fiery ball of energy. The reason why it appears to be so bright is because its intense power and radiation is produced by a process known as nuclear fusion, …show more content…
It is the only satellite of the Earth, and affects planets in many different ways. Its gravitational pull controls the tides of the ocean, and the Moon’s phases influences our calendar. The Moon takes about 27.3 days to orbit around the Earth. The light that the Moon gives off is only a reflection of the Sun’s light, bouncing off of it. The Moon only reflects about twelve percent of the light that hits it because of its rugged, and dark surface. The position of which the Moon is at while orbiting can also affect the light that we get from it. For example, when the Moon is full it could be up to twenty percent brighter than it normally would be. The most popular theory of how the Moon was formed is that the Moon was once part of a larger celestial body, about the size of Mars. During the formation of the Earth, the celestial body collided with the Earth, causing debris to fly into orbit, which then slowly came together and made up a celestial object, the Moon. The Moon has a lot of iron content, both the inner and outer cores consist of liquid iron. The Moon is twenty seven percent the size of Earth, a little more than one fourth. Its diameter is 2,159.2 miles, while its circumference is about 6,783.5 miles. As you can probably tell, the Moon is not a very large celestial object, but it does look relatively large looking up at it from Earth. This is because the Moon is only 238,900 miles away from the
The Sun
The sun is a star located at the center of the universe, and without it, there would be no life on Earth. It is the most important source of energy for humans as it provides us light, heat, and more. It can reach surface temperatures of about 5,276 degrees Celsius, and 10,340 degrees Fahrenheit. The composition of the Sun changes slowly as hydrogen is converted into helium in its core; however, it is currently made up of around 70% hydrogen, 28% helium, and less than 2% of other metals. From satellite images of the sun in space, it appears to be a great, red, fiery ball of energy. The reason why it appears to be so bright is because its intense power and radiation is produced by a process known as nuclear fusion, …show more content…
It is the only satellite of the Earth, and affects planets in many different ways. Its gravitational pull controls the tides of the ocean, and the Moon’s phases influences our calendar. The Moon takes about 27.3 days to orbit around the Earth. The light that the Moon gives off is only a reflection of the Sun’s light, bouncing off of it. The Moon only reflects about twelve percent of the light that hits it because of its rugged, and dark surface. The position of which the Moon is at while orbiting can also affect the light that we get from it. For example, when the Moon is full it could be up to twenty percent brighter than it normally would be. The most popular theory of how the Moon was formed is that the Moon was once part of a larger celestial body, about the size of Mars. During the formation of the Earth, the celestial body collided with the Earth, causing debris to fly into orbit, which then slowly came together and made up a celestial object, the Moon. The Moon has a lot of iron content, both the inner and outer cores consist of liquid iron. The Moon is twenty seven percent the size of Earth, a little more than one fourth. Its diameter is 2,159.2 miles, while its circumference is about 6,783.5 miles. As you can probably tell, the Moon is not a very large celestial object, but it does look relatively large looking up at it from Earth. This is because the Moon is only 238,900 miles away from the