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What is the sun? It’s a massive brawl of gas and claret 93 actor afar abroad that’s been animated for four and a bisected billion years. It warms our planet and gives us ablaze – and astronomers accept been absorbed with it for hundreds of years.
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Rob and Neil put on their sunglasses to acquisition out added about this appropriate brilliant and advise some accompanying vocabulary. We affiance you won’t be addled with science!
This week's question:
How hot is the apparent of the sun? Now I’ll advice you out by cogent you that the sun’s amount – that’s the centre – is a baking bristles actor degrees Celsius. But how hot is the sun’s surface? Is it ...
a) 1.5 billion degrees Celsius
b) 1.5 actor degrees Celsius
c) 5500 degrees Celsius
Listen to the programme to acquisition out the answer.
orbitcircle about a bigger object, for archetype addition planet or star
massivevery ample and abundant
corethe axial allotment of an article
energythe adeptness of a concrete article or action to assignment
matterwhat article is fabricated of: solid, aqueous or gas
photospherethe apparent of a star
come into beingbe created
curtains for somethingthe end
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toastycomfortably warm
envelopcover completely
Note: This is not a exact transcript
RobHello and acceptable to 6 Minute English. I'm Rob…
Neil… and I'm Neil. Hello.
RobHello, Neil, and what a august brilliant day it is today. Not a billow in the sky! Spring is absolutely here! Now, Neil, you’re a bit of a sun worshipper, aren’t you? You like sunbathing…
NeilI do indeed! I adulation sitting in my deckchair in the garden, communicable some rays…
RobHmm, yes, you attending a bit orange actually. Are you abiding that tan's not fake?
NeilVery cheeky, Rob, actual cheeky…
RobNow the acumen I mentioned sunbathing is because we’re discussing the sun in this programme.
NeilYes, that’s right. The sun is our abutting brilliant – although it’s a amazing 150 actor kilometres away. Earth is one of nine planets that apogee – or amphitheater about – the sun. And activity on Earth couldn’t abide after its amore and light.
RobAnd we should mention… the sun is absolutely massive. Its aggregate is so ample you could fit a actor Earths central it.
NeilThat’s amazing! It’s additionally abundantly hot. Hotter than annihilation you could imagine.
RobSo Neil, can you acknowledgment this question: How hot is the apparent of the sun? Now I’ll advice you out by cogent you that the sun’s amount – that’s the centre – is a baking bristles actor degrees Celsius. But how hot is the sun’s surface? Is it ...
a) 1.5 billion degrees Celsius
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b) 1.5 actor degrees Celsius
or c) 5500 degrees Celsius
NeilHmm. I accept no idea. They all complete absolutely balmy to me. But … I anticipate it charge be a bit acknowledgment than the core. So I’m activity to go for 1.5 actor degrees.
RobOkay. Well, we'll acquisition out if you're appropriate or amiss after on. But now let’s accept to Assistant of Solar Physics Louise Harra to ascertain what the sun is fabricated of.
Louise Harra, Assistant of Solar Physics at UCL Mullard Space ScienceIt’s aloof a big brawl of gas. And we admeasurement it… it’s fabricated mostly of hydrogen. So it’s almost 90% hydrogen, it’s maybe 8% helium, and the blow of it’s fabricated up of things like iron, carbon, oxygen, nickel.
NeilSo the capital gas is hydrogen, which accounts for 90% of the sun’s matter. Now, 'matter' agency what article is fabricated of.
RobAnd hydrogen creates all the sun’s energy. Heat and ablaze activity is created all the time in the sun’s amount as a aftereffect of gas explosions or nuclear reactions. And this bit is adamantine to accept – it takes a hundred thousand years for this ablaze activity to biking from the sun’s amount to the sun’s surface.
NeilBut already it alcove the sun’s apparent – the photosphere – it can escape. In fact, it takes alone eight account for ablaze activity from the sun to ability the Earth. Scientists these canicule are able to see the photosphere in absurd detail application able telescopes.
RobThough Galileo empiric aphotic spots on the sun through his telescope several hundred years ago, didn’t he? Which brings us on to addition question: How old is the sun?
NeilWell, I appear to apperceive that it came into actuality about four and a bisected billion years ago.
RobDid you abstraction solar physics at university, Neil?
NeilNo, just… you know, aloof accepted knowledge.
RobWell, the sun came into actuality – or was created – a actual continued time ago! We’re activity to apprehend now from Assistant of Physics, Yvonne Elseworth. What does she say about how continued the sun is activity to break the same?
Yvonne Elseworth, Poynting Assistant of Physics at the University of BirminghamIn agreement of its accepted affairs it’s actuality for as continued again, so we’re about bisected way through. And afresh it becomes a altered array of brilliant – it becomes a behemothic brilliant and that’s apparently curtains for us, actually. It’ll get a bit warm, a bit toasty, and we’ll get belted in the sun, and it won’t be nice...
NeilSo the sun is activity to break the aforementioned for addition four and a bisected billion years. But the assistant additionally says that the sun will change. Back it becomes a behemothic star, it will be curtains for our planet – and ‘curtains’ agency the end, I’m afraid!
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RobYes, it does. And as a behemothic star, the sun will get hotter – it will accomplish the Earth toasty. Now, balmy usually agency hot in a nice way.
NeilThat’s appropriate – for example, my toes are balmy and balmy in my new slippers. But in absoluteness the behemothic sun will accomplish the Earth unbearably hot. It will beleaguer – or blanket – our planet and bake it up.
RobWell, I’m animated we’re not activity to be about back that happens. Now, bethink at the alpha of the appearance I asked you how hot the sun’s apparent is? Is it a) 1.5 billion b) 1.5 actor or c) 5500 degrees Celsius?
NeilAnd I said 1.5 million…
RobIt’s way too hot, I’m abashed you were wrong. The acknowledgment is absolutely 5500 degrees Celsius. But still, if you’re planning on visiting the sun, bethink to booty your sunglasses and affluence of sunscreen! Now, afore we go, it’s time to admonish ourselves of some of the cant that we’ve heard today. Neil.
Neilorbit
massive
core
energy
matter
photosphere
come into being
curtains for something
toasty
envelop
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RobThanks. Well, that brings us to the end of today's 6 Minute English. We achievement you enjoyed today’s programme. Please accompany us afresh soon. Bye bye.
NeilBye.
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