Fall Constellation, Aquarius

Official Name: There is no official International Astronomical Union (IAU) name for the Sun, but it is referred as Sol or Solis in various parts of the world.

Myth or Story: In Greek mythology, the god Helios “shines upon men and deathless gods, and piercingly he gazes with his eyes from his golden helmet. Bright rays beam dazzlingly from him and his bright locks streaming from the temples of his head gracefully enclose his far-seen face: a rich, fine-spun garment glows upon his body and flutters int eh wind: and stallions carry him” (Helios).

Physical Properties: The sun is a yellow dwarf star. The mass of the sun is 1.99 x 10 30 kilograms. It is made up of many gasses, but hydrogen makes up 73.4 percent of the sun’s mass. The sun has five layers. Deep at the center is the Core, next is the Radiative zone and Convection zone. Outside of the convection zone is the Photosphere. Finally, the Chromosphere lays on the outside and contains all of the gasses. The sun has an atmosphere outside of the chromosphere called the Corona. The Earth has a magnetic field called the magnetosphere that protects the planet from the sun’s solar winds. However, every once in a while, those winds strike the Earth’s air molecules in the atmosphere and create curtains of light known as auroras.

Mission Overview: The Parker Solar Probe is an operating mission to “be placed into an elliptical orbit around the sun.” (NASA). The probe was launched in July of 2018. The probe will orbit the sun 24 times, getting closer to the sun with each complete revolution. NASA is hoping that “Solar Probe Plus will fly within 3.7 million miles of the sun’s surface” on the final three passes. As the probe is getting closer to the sun, it is taking samples of the environment. With the successful completion of this exploration mission, we will have more information about the outer corona of the sun and a “better understanding of the coronal heating and the origin and evolution of solar winds” (NASA).