by heehaw » Sat Aug 19, 2017 12:19 pm
A Saturn V rocket, ready for launch, weighs 2.8 million kg. In contrast, a Coronal Mass Ejection from the Sun averages 1,600,000,000,000 kg. Such masses are launched successfully from the Sun every few days.
The “surface” of the sun is 5800 K. A typical hydrogen atom in the solar atmosphere moves a factor of 50 slower than escape velocity. Escape velocity from Earth is 11.2 km/s while escape velocity from the Sun is 618 km/s. How the heck does the Sun manage to have such a hugely efficient space program, making NASA look like pikers? Ah, the magnetic field! Yes indeed, somehow, that is the answer, but we don’t know what the “somehow” really is. The Earth’s magnetic field is about half a gauss; but the Sun’s is only about 1 gauss! However, in a solar flare, magnetic field strength is about 1500 gauss. Just above the “surface” of the Sun, the chromosphere has a temperature of 20,000 K and the solar corona (seen in today’s APOD) has a temperature of a few million Kelvin. How come so very hot? Nod slowly, look wise, and intone "the magnetic field."
Maybe we will find the answers when we actually GO there, which we will do about one year from now:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker_Solar_ProbeA Saturn V rocket, ready for launch, weighs 2.8 million kg. In contrast, a Coronal Mass Ejection from the Sun averages 1,600,000,000,000 kg. Such masses are launched successfully from the Sun every few days.
The “surface” of the sun is 5800 K. A typical hydrogen atom in the solar atmosphere moves a factor of 50 slower than escape velocity. Escape velocity from Earth is 11.2 km/s while escape velocity from the Sun is 618 km/s. How the heck does the Sun manage to have such a hugely efficient space program, making NASA look like pikers? Ah, the magnetic field! Yes indeed, somehow, that is the answer, but we don’t know what the “somehow” really is. The Earth’s magnetic field is about half a gauss; but the Sun’s is only about 1 gauss! However, in a solar flare, magnetic field strength is about 1500 gauss. Just above the “surface” of the Sun, the chromosphere has a temperature of 20,000 K and the solar corona (seen in today’s APOD) has a temperature of a few million Kelvin. How come so very hot? Nod slowly, look wise, and intone "the magnetic field."
Maybe we will find the answers when we actually GO there, which we will do about one year from now:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker_Solar_Probe