Astronomy and the Sun

Astronomy is one of the most interesting and amazing branch of science. Man has always been fascinated by the mysteries of the universe. The term 'astronomy' refers to the objects outside the universe, their movements, their composition, and their characteristics. Its relation to physics ,too, is very deep because of which it is even called "astrophysics". The field and scope of science is immense and astronomy is just a part of it. Nevertheless, it is an important part of it.

The sun, being the only source of energy in the solar system, has forever fascinated man. The real age of the sun was not discovered by the astronomers, but by the geologists. It was Nicholas Copernicus who stated that the sun rests almost at the center of the universe. The sun is composed of hydrogen, helium, and a little bit of other elements. In the early days people used to think that the sun is a different kind of object and not a star. Just as the stars have a life cycle like that of the living beings, the sun too has a life span. The realization of this truth is a wonderful discovery of astronomy. Several astronomers have discovered a variety of interesting truths like that of the discovery of the comets, the planets, the satellites, the stars, the milky way, the black holes, bright galaxies, telescope, infrared waves, etc. Astronomers are always in the search of more information on various celestial bodies and sun is always one of their favorite topics. It proximity to the earth and its predominant position in the human civilization may have been a primary cause. Even today there are communities that worship the sun as the genesis of human civilization. So, it is natural for scientists to dig deeper into its myriad mysteries.

Research says that the sun's orbit is in the center of the Milky Way galaxy and to complete one full circle it takes 225-250 million years. The heat of the sun is beyond imagination because even after being 26,000 light years away from the galactic center it has the power to keep the earth warm. The sun's atmosphere is made of plasma and this plasma is actually a kind of extremely hot ionized gas. This is one of the main reasons of the sun having most of the energy that it has. The layers of the sun are the Core, at the center comprising of an area of some 15 megacelvins; Radioactive Zone; Interface Region, which is the source of the sun's magnetism; Convection Zone; Photosphere; Chromospheres, and the finally the Corona. The sun does not follow a rigid rotation, like that of the earth because it is surrounded by liquid gaseous materials, not by crust as it happens in the case of the earth. Nuclear fusion plays a very important part in the energy that sun radiates. Fusion seemingly involves the joining of two elements leading to a huge release of energy. This aspect has been closely studied by astronomers using various devices. With the development of new technology, astromers are being gifted with sensitive devices that can track any minor changes that are occurring on the sun and thus keep us updated.

This is what has been discovered about the sun so far by the astronomers. The mysteries of the sun are unending and though the astronomers and the scientists are trying their best to fathom the unrelenting mysteries, a lot of it is yet to be discovered.