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I would understand if you had a list that said, "Bodies in the solar system:" but instead the title is "see also:" Why does it say:
If we do this, then we might as well put this on every article:
I think putting a different title than "see also:" is the better way to go.
Solar system:
Sun -
Mercury -
Venus -
Earth -
Mars -
Asteroids -
Jupiter -
Saturn -
Uranus -
Neptune -
Pluto -
Comets
oh $hit, sorry, I didn't realize that all solar system objects had the same thing at the bottom including the "self-link". sorry about that, revert if you like, then go from there. A self-link actually wouldn't be bad. It was the ugly bolded Sun part that looked kind of annoying.
I just saw what you did, it looks better than what was there before. I think because the See also: was on the same link as the Sun before, so it looked a bit messy. But now there is a space, as well as the divider. cool.
Poor Yoric, I don't think it's a good idea to load up the table with all those random factoids. Wikipedia:WikiProject Astronomical Objects has a template for data about stars, and the more stuff the Sun's table gets cluttered up with the more it diverges from that. I'd suggest trying to work them into the body of the article's text instead. Bryan
What does "Atoms undergoing chemical reaction to generate Luminosity" actually mean, anyway? There are no chemical reactions in the Sun, it is composed of plasma. Bryan
Quote from the article:
"This releases energy which escapes from the surface of the Sun as light."
This statement is very misleading as it seems to suggest that energy ONLY escapes from the Sun as light, whereas energy is actually emitted from the Sun across most of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Is there a reason that the Sun's vital statistics give its diameter but those of the planets give their radius? Marnanel 06:53, Apr 2, 2004 (UTC)
Can we put something on the sun's place within the galaxy and upwards in it? i.e. the sun itself rotates around the centre of a galaxy known as the milky way with a centre... (talk)-- BozMo 20:27, 10 May 2004 (UTC)
Quote from the article: "3.9 × 10^45 atoms undergo nuclear reactions there every second" If this were true, the energy output per nuclear reaction would be somewhat less than 1 eV. If we calculate the number of fused hydrogen atoms from the solar power ouput we get about 3.8 × 10^38. Sure, it's less per atom involved in a single reaction (hydrogen first fuses so deuterium and then some more reactions occur), but the energy output of a single reaction is certainly much higher than 1 eV. I'll rewrite that sentence. 193.171.121.30 14:51, 5 Jun 2004 (UTC)
can someone add info about estimates on how much longer the sun will exist before it dies? thanks! Kingturtle 03:49, 17 Sep 2004 (UTC)
Shouldn't the main photographical illustration be a visible-light image of the Sun, rather than an X-ray one? A nice one showing some sunspots and chromosphere will be much better than an X-ray image that looks nothing like one might see in a telescope.
-New Comment- Articles on the remaining life of the sun give conflicting estimates of the life. Britannica 2004 (DVD version) and previous versions of that publication give the remaining life as 100 billion years, based on the amount of hydrogen currently in the sun and the rate of burning. Scientific American, in a July 2004 article, gives the remaining life as only 5 billion years. Of course, both can't be right. I've also read other estimates, such as 10 billion years. The 5 billion year estimate assumes that only the hydrogen in the sun's core will be burned. I only have a bachelors in physics, so I don't have the expertise to say which estimate is right, but I lean toward the 100 billion year figure.
Quoting from the Britannica article: A calculation of the time required to convert all the hydrogen in the Sun provides an estimate of the length of time for which the Sun can continue to radiate energy. Converting 0.7 percent of the 2 × 1033 grams of hydrogen into energy that is radiated at 4 × 1033 ergs per second permits the Sun to shine for 3 × 1018 seconds, or 100 billion years at the present rate.
S.L., 4/4/2006, Fridley, Minnesota, USA
Just how relevant is "Physicists are able to replicate thermonuclear reactions with hydrogen bombs. Sustained nuclear fusion on Earth for electricity generation may be possible in the future, with nuclear fusion reactors."? I hesitate to delete it, because having more information is usually better than having less, but I thought I'd point out how strikingly awkward that inclusion is.
With regard to the Sun page, I was using Allen's Astrophysical quantities for the solar rotation, and the recommended value was 25.38 days. Looking at the rotation periods determined by a whole list of methods, that value had a standard deviation of about 0.6 days. (See solar rotation) Do we want to carry it out to seven decimal places? Also I saw the edit
" This makes it possible for the Sun to rotate faster at its equator
(about 24 days) than it does at higher latitudes (28 days near its poles)."
Don't you mean about 25 days? I just want to make sure I know what you did there before I go and re-edit. Paul Reiser 04:27, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC)
I'm still suspicious of so many digits, given that all those different methods give such varying results, but so be it. I'm sure, however, that the scienceworld quote is wrong. The relationship between solar synodic and sidereal periods is
where D' is synodic period, D is sidereal period, and Y is orbital period of the earth (1 year). Using D=25.38 days, Y=365.25 days, I get D'=27.275267... days. Scienceworld and Allen quote 27.2753, and the old quote from the sun page was equivalent to 27.275 days, so everything fits. I will change the 24 to 25. Paul Reiser 11:49, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC)
We've been trying to work out solar fusion numbers over at Nuclear fusion and Talk:Nuclear fusion - see the "Check these numbers?" section. I'm hoping that some of you folks know more about the solar fusion process than what we were able to piece together and can double-check what we (I) came up with. Thanks. SMesser 21:26, 21 Jan 2005 (UTC)
All we have here are two SOHO pictures using the same special color filter. Can we not use a "normal light" picture on the top, possibly with a couple of sun spots? Awolf002 15:51, 22 Jan 2005 (UTC)
Great! I was combing through NASA images, too. You were more sucessful than me. Thanks! Awolf002 03:16, 23 Jan 2005 (UTC)
I'd like to see the symbol for the Sun in the article. -- FlockofPidgeons 24:06, 11 Feb 2005 (UTC)
The german article of the Sun is superb. I dont know if any of you guys knows German well enough to reuse some of the material but some of the stuff they talk in detail there is not ever mentioned in this article. Regards! -- Smartech 20:44, 13 Mar 2005 (UTC)
I put it into Babelfish, played around with it a little, then put it on a page Sonne translation. Its not a good translation, but its readable. We can edit it, etc. and get an idea of what it is saying. Paul Reiser 00:54, 14 Mar 2005 (UTC)
4.26 million tonnes per second??? Drop the million and you have the correct figure. This can be checked by the famous E = Mc^2
I removed the recently-contributed RED BOX!!!!! on eye damage and added a brief section on it, since this is such a persistent meme. Solar eye damage is a much-overblown hazard: it rarely (if ever) happens to the unaided eye, and there are reports of people staring at the Sun for literally hours with no lasting ill effects. Of course, it is possible to go blind by looking at the Sun through binoculars, but it's also possible to go blind by ramming a fork into the eyes, and there's no BIG RED BOX!!!!! on that page. Sorry for the sarcasm -- I just deal with this sort of thing a lot in Real Life, being a solar physicist. zowie 21:48, 6 May 2005 (UTC)
( SEWilco 02:54, 7 May 2005 (UTC))
Ok, sorry, but under the section title Sun and eye damage there is a chick sun bathing. What's up with that? What has that got anything to do with eye damage? Irrelevant? --
None-of-the-Above
17:27, 5 September 2005 (UTC)
However, it is still very dangerous to view the Sun with binoculars at such times, as ultraviolet light is much less affected by haze and dust, and so its capacity to damage the retina is not reduced
I'm not sure but shouldn't it read `infrared'? Blue light (and ultraviolet) is easier to be scattered. That's why setting sun is red and sky is blue. Anyway isn't it that the setting (or rising) sun is just still quite bright and with optical enhancing can be dangerous regardless of the wavelength? Poszwa 03:15, 13 October 2005 (UTC)
I put the bold sentences in there to highlight the key information in each paragraph. If they offend anyone, please feel free to remove the boldness -- but please also edit the text to highlight those sentences in some other way. The point is to draw the eye to the main point of the paragraph, without resorting to a BIG RED BOX!!! (see above). zowie 20:07, 13 October 2005 (UTC)
Could someone put in an exact quote from that cited article about chlororetinal temperature. I'd always heard that old-time marine navigators lost their eyesight all the time, because of old navigation techniques that involved looking at the sun with one eye. That's why you'd see so many sea-captains and pirates wearing eyepatches. Phr 14:42, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
There is a big list at the bottom of the article, "See Also". Isn't this what categories are for? Should there be a Sun category? Ebeisher 16:37, 26 May 2005 (UTC)
Are we supposed to put new posts at the top or bottom? Sorry if I'm doing something wrong, this is my first ever post on a talk page. Anyway. I feel that this article is biased. It comes across as saying that the Nuclear Fusion Theory of the Sun is fact. It isn't fact, it's just the most commonly accepted mainstream Theory. It totally neglects to say any of this, much less mention that the info is based on a theory, it just goes on like it is fact (something that I have seen in other encyclopedia's, website articles, spoken word etc). There is no mention of the Electric Star, (The Electric Universe Theory), which is quickly becoming another popular theory, and one that makes more sense IMHO. FistOfFury 30 June 2005 23:56 (UTC)
On a side note from the Electric Sun theory (I think), can we have a section that mentions the claims by Dr Manuel Oliver that the Sun is in fact made mostly of Iron, not Hydrogen? I came across this today and it makes sense to me, as well as appearing to have appeared in a fair number of peer reviewed mainstream journals. It is certainly NOT accepted with entirely open arms, but I would think it useful to list it under the Problems section. Some links:
-- User:Falkayn
Heavy elements such as uranium can be produced by a supernova (nearly everyone's favorite theory and the reason most interested scientists believe that the Sun is a second-generation star); but they can also be produced by neutron absorption inside a massive star. That second process should be mentioned for completeness although it also supports the idea that the Sun is second-generation (which is why I just edited it back in :-). zowie 5 July 2005 15:20 (UTC)
Taking a cursory look at this; it would appear to me that a newcomer was biten and Wikipolicy could have been explained along with a short answer to the question(s) on this page and 84's talk page, regardless of wether they were in good faith. Furthermore, isn't the Wikipedia:Reference_desk a viable option? Unless I'm missing some backstory here. - Roy Boy 800 01:04, 11 July 2005 (UTC)
Hmmm. Maybe I acted in haste -- but there *is* a section on this Talk page that discusses the very question that was asked, and a section in the main article answering it. I saw the L337-5p34k and figured it was a troll. So, uh, what now? zowie 04:04, 11 July 2005 (UTC)
I would like to change the intro to this article. The current first two sentences:
are misleading, I think, and would be much better if changed to the following:
Use of 'sun' as a synonym for 'star' is generally figurative and in common and astronomical usage, the word 'sun' implicitly means 'the' Sun, hence my change to the first sentence. Given that change, the second sentence can be shortened, and I don't see the point of linking to Sol seeing as it's a disambiguation page which will lead the reader back to this article.
Seeing as there are currently a few disagreements between me and others about the use of Sun/Sol (see Talk:Solar system and Wikipedia:Categories for deletion/Log/2005 July 16) I thought I would make my suggestion on the talk page first. Worldtraveller 16:36, 19 July 2005 (UTC)
Worldtraveller, have you got a source for the G2V classification for the sun asd the specific criteria that make it so? PJO 17:37:34, 2005-08-02 (UTC) I found a citation, and specified in the article what the various parts of "G2V" signify. PJO 17:47:35, 2005-08-02 (UTC)
I already found a source explaining what the "V" meant, that's what I was looking for, and I added it to the article. PJO 18:28:35, 2005-08-02 (UTC)
I removed the reference to this because it doesn't make sense to describe the sun as a 'source' of photosynthesis, which is a chemical reaction. I also changed the description of the sun as essential to all life because it's not completely true - volcanic vents on the ocean floor are one example of a place where life proliferates without aid from the sun. Worldtraveller 16:11, 1 September 2005 (UTC)
This must reflect some different understanding that we have. My understanding is that it makes perfect sense to describe the Sun as the 'source' of photosynthesis. Could you explain more why being a chemical reaction means the Sun is not the source of it? It's a scientific phenomenon that needs to be linked from this page in the interest of knowledge, which is not what we're supposed to suppress. And as for the volcanic vents, I also have a different understanding. Perhaps you are suggesting they would still have life in them if the earth were off in deep space and nowhere near a sun... Codex Sinaiticus 16:19, 1 September 2005 (UTC)
Well, the other ways are already mentioned: light, and heat. This looks to be the logical place to link it, behind the other two, unless there be a better place or section. You don't think it's significant enough for the lead? Codex Sinaiticus 17:34, 1 September 2005 (UTC)
So you don't want to mention it at all. By the way, do all scientists unanimously agree that life could exist without a Sun... or is there some disagreement within the scientific community on this? Codex Sinaiticus 17:53, 1 September 2005 (UTC)
Codex Sinaiticus, please can you explain why you feel that photosynthesis must be mentioned in the lead section? There are many processes which rely on the Sun's light and/or heat; why emphasise this one? Worldtraveller 16:06, 6 September 2005 (UTC)
This time I got rid of the photosynthesis reference. It has no place in the introductory paragraph -- this is an article about the Sun, not about plant metabolism. I'm willing to accept a photosynthesis reference farther down in a section on (say) "sunlight as a source of power" thhat discusses the solar constant and solar power generation -- but it really doesn't belong in the top paragraph. zowie 19:50, 6 September 2005 (UTC)
Okay, I got off my duff and wrote a draft 1-para section on solar power and photosynthesis. Please feel free to hack at it. It might address Codex Sinaiticus's valid concern that photosynthesis (and other types of energy storage) should at least be mentioned, while also not diverting the focus of the introduction. zowie 20:06, 6 September 2005 (UTC)
I removed a claim that was at best misleading -- that atoms can exist in the convection zone, but the Sun is composed of plasma everywhere else. While some hydrogen is neutral in the outer part of the convection zone, it is mixed with a much larger percentage of ionized hydrogen -- and the material is best called "plasma" everywhere in the Sun, including the photosphere. (The temperature at the base of the convection zone is about 2,000,000 K; hydrogen becomes fully ionized somewhere around 160,000 K.) zowie 08:09, 12 September 2005 (UTC)
Can we have an image similar to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Earth-Moon.jpg? I know that the size difference and space would be massive, but I'm trying to explain the size differences to my daughter, and she's just not grasping it. I think a similar image would be helpful.
I found it odd that the spectral calss of the sun (ie G2) is not included in the main table at the top right, which has all the orbital, physical etc information. Is there a particular reason for this? It seems as though that table (and indeed the table for all stars) would be the perfect place to have such a basic piece of information.
Thoughts?
We seem to be having a difference of opinion regarding how long photons stay inside the Sun. Previously the article stated 1,000,000 years; I claim it is 160,000 - 200,000 years, though someone has reverted this. I can point you towards at least one astronomy professor who can back me up. This, of course, does not automatically trump whatever other source was used to arrive at the 1,000,000 number, but I think we need some discussion to come to a concensus. Spamguy 04:06, 26 November 2005 (UTC)
I really must object to the heavy treatment that the current article has about "photon travel time". The photons that escape the surface are not related at all to the photons at the center of the Sun. They differ in spectrum and in energy per photon (there are several million visible light photons emitted for every fusion-related gamma ray, and are the result of a very large number of absorption/re-emission operations in the radiative zone. Photon travel time is a sexy popularization but does not capture the actual physics that is happening. It is far, far better to speak of "energy travel time", and even that is misleading. (For example, many people are under the mistaken impression that, if the solar core were to stop fusing, then we would not find out about it for thousands to millions of years, because that is the average energy travel time from the core to the photosphere; but the latter does not imply the former. The sound transit time is a matter of hours, and that is the important time scale for such things.) I do not have time just now to compose a variant that does not mention photon travel time, but expect one in the near future. zowie 18:28, 26 November 2005 (UTC)
This is trivially debunked. You can find your own sources easily enough with Google, or go straight to Phil Plait's page about it. In summary, they're just CCD glitches which are extremely common, reproduceable, and well understood. Nothing to see here; move along. — HorsePunchKid→ 龜 2005-12-05 05:09:15 Z
I have to dispute this edit, for now (and will remove it). Can you provide a reference for this, since I am pretty sure it still is radioactivity that provides the largest amount of energy to geothermal heat. Awolf002 18:51, 10 January 2006 (UTC)
NP, just keep checking yourself :-) Awolf002 22:27, 10 January 2006 (UTC)
I do not believe this article follows the NPOV policy of wikipedia I quote: "...the star at the center of our Solar system..." that is a very earth centric view and I believe the 'our' should be taken out. There are outsiders living here too you know. -- 128.227.34.184 12:18, 15 February 2006 (UTC)
Yeah last I checked this system is "our" system in the same way that a job is "your" job, or how its "my family". Yeah sure other people still have the same job, and there are people who share the family with me, but as long as I have part of a stake in it, its "my job, my family, our solar system" etc. As long as we dont indicate exclusive, and even thats up for grabs since this isn't the science fiction database of whoseywhatsits. (watch out for the technical jargon).-- Oni Ookami Alfador Talk| @ 21:38, 15 February 2006 (UTC)
I eliminated a clause that the "heliospheric current sheet is the largest structure in the solar system". It's not. The heliopause is. It has to be -- it is large enough to contain the heliospheric current sheet. zowie 22:34, 21 February 2006 (UTC)
Does anyone else think this article could be ready for one? Any thoughts on what else it needs, if anything? Worldtraveller 23:36, 18 February 2006 (UTC)
I'm pretty happy with the structure, though I preferred the atmospheric section split out into temperature-minimum, chromosphere and corona rather than grouped into one. Thanks for the general overhaul and nit-picking. zowie 03:51, 19 February 2006 (UTC)
All seems like a good idea to me. Looks pretty much ready. If anyone nominates it, please leave a note on my talk page if you want my vote. I'm a lot more likely to check there.-- Oni Ookami Alfador Talk| @ 05:54, 20 February 2006 (UTC)
This article is incomprehensive unless it expands on sun in fiction, religion and culture in general.-- Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus Talk 19:51, 26 February 2006 (UTC)
Well, OK, but it's a little over the top to hold up a cheesy whodunit with a guilty butler, as high culture. zowie 01:56, 27 February 2006 (UTC)
Please add a reference for this new section. All I saw was a Reuters news item, not any source that would satisfy the reliable sources policy for this type of article. Thanks! Awolf002 22:10, 6 March 2006 (UTC)
Quote-"more than 99% of the solar system's mass is contained in it." How can more than 99% of the solar system's mass be contained in the Sun? Wouldn't that have to mean that all of the mass of the solar system is contained in the Sun (which is certainly not true)? 64.192.107.242 13:39, 8 March 2006 (UTC)
Isnt't the intro a violation of the NPOV policy? "Our solar system" is clearly a reflection of a Terrestrian point of view. Kpalion 18:43, 19 March 2006 (UTC)
Now, is our Sun the only Sun? I mean, I hear astronomers say "there may be other planets revolving around other Suns". I mean, is "Sun" a pronoun? Or is "Sun" a word to describe a star around which planets revolve? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by [[User:67.165.87.40]|67.165.87.40]]] ([[User talk:67.165.87.40]|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/67.165.87.40]|contribs]]) 01:08, March 20, 2006 (UTC)
i'm glad this article has made featured status, it is certainly worthy. however, my only quibble is that i don't understand why the least impressive picture of the sun is the one at the top. surely the image should inspire awe in the reader; the current one is just rubbish. the opening one on the main page is dead good, should we use that instead? i'm new to the whole astrophysics thing, is there some sort of standard in place? mastodon 00:59, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
I posted the other day about how I was happy about the West Wing being featured as a fan of the show. But dammit, I'm proud as living being that the Sun is featured. TKE 01:33, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
I heard 20 billion years. Sometimes 5. I read it from the featured page and there's no mention of it that I can see in the article (it is really long too). The article needs this. 206.11.112.251 01:42, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
I find it highly unlikely that this "sun" is notable. It doesn't even appear to have its own website, as sun.com is a link to a computer hardware company. Furthermore, I believe it may be a hoax, based on the existence of this garage band's myspace account: http://www.myspace.com/thesun . I'm unsure whether to simply add a speedy deletion tag, or use the full AfD procedure. Your thoughts? -- Xyzzyplugh 01:47, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
This is going in BJAODN. Great. Daniel Case 05:28, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
Quoting from the FA:
"Energy from the Sun has supported almost all life on Earth through photosynthesis since the appearance of the first organisms. Humans use sunlight for eyesight, warmth, growing crops, and powering solar cells."
And taking a Q from xyz... , who started this:
Its PoV: Alleges only humans have any use for it.
Is unclear: Which is the *some* (maybe 0.2%) of life it has not supported.
Thx. And congratulations. Tho' I'm still a Conn. Yankee! :-) VivekM 20:27, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
"...from geothermal forms...?" And from whence did that originate, h'mmm?....LOL Britmax 12:16, 8 June 2006 (UTC)
Here is what the chart says about the velocity of the sun "217 km/s relative to center of Galaxy, 20 km/s relative to average velocity of other stars in neighborhood". I thought that velocity have to have a direction, so where is the sun going 217km/s? Away from the center of the galaxy? To the center of the galaxy? Where are we going 20 km/s relative to average velocity of other stars in neighborhood? Away from the center of the galaxy? To the center of the galaxy? North 67 degrees west? I think the direction should be indicated not assumed Pseudoanonymous 03:09, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
There's no mention in this article about the primary contribution of the sun to life on Earth: a source of well-ordered light which allows the Earth to be an "entropy engine," harnessing the light and releasing thermal, mostly infrared radiation. As you can tell me understanding of this subject is vague, but surely it's worth a mention. In ecology textbooks the use of sun in photosynthesis et al. (enthalpy) is mentioned to the exclusion of the sun as a source of ordered, uniform light waves, thus permitting the local anti-entropic development of life in exchange for the highly disordered thermal radiation that organisms emit. Ryanluck 09:03, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
I semiprotected this article after a user request and in light of the fact that there has been a rash of recent anon vandalism. Let me know if and when you'd like it removed. Gator (talk) 15:39, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
I have tried to address some of the kneejerk Earth-centrism in this article, but it's an uphill battle. When will the Earthling provincialism end? At the very least, no more "our"s in the article, "our solar system", "our galaxy", et cetera. For shame. Babajobu 18:01, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
There should probably at least be links to Solar deity, Solar symbol, etc... AnonMoos 20:08, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
Near the top of the page, it says 36 days, but futher down says 35 days for a polar rotation. I figure it's somewhere inbetween but it should be the same throughout the article. 207.165.145.65 20:50, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
Perhaps this webpage (provides its own references nicely enough, may aid in adressing the issue. [3] If I am correct it has something to do with relative drag effects, incidental of the fluid nature of solar plasma. Consider it simmilar to reasoning for ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream.-- Oni Ookami Alfador Talk| @ 03:08, 21 March 2006 (UTC)
Is it Scientifically correct to say that the sun will 'evolve'? -- Science Lord 20:52, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
Yes. Remember, differentiation of species by natural selection is one very specific meaning of evolution. The more general meaning is change over time, with a connotation of gradual change. zowie 21:05, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
If the sun is a 'yellow star' and lovely large detailed pictures seem to support it, how is it that sunlight is full spectrum? If the sun LOOKS yellow, meaning yellow light is what meets the eye/camera, then logically you conclude the sun doesn't give off any light of a non-yellow frequency, yet we know it does, because when you split sunlight in a prism, there's all the other colors. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.26.169.37 ( talk • contribs) 23:22, March 20, 2006 (UTC)
zowie 22:38, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
I wasn't expecting my earlier minor edit to be controversial. I don't understand what purpose is served by comparision of the Sun's circumference to the Earth's diameter. I would find it far more intuitive to do an 'apples to apples' comparison, and to say that the Sun's circumference is 109 times that of the Earth... and its diameter is 109 times that of the Earth. It seems that this is a pointless multiplication by π, given that they're both spheres to within the three significant figures shown here. Removal of the 'earths' comparison of the circumference entirely on the grounds that it is redundant would also make sense to me. -- Noren 01:01, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
I made an edit earlier stating that the sun was of at least the third generation, which has since been (partially) reverted. My understanding is that the earliest stars are believed to have formed from matter containing nearly no elements heavier than lithium, and thus the CNO cycle could not occur until after the core was hot enough to perform a triple-alpha process. (A recent web site on Population III stars is here.) I have read that these Population III stars did not, therefore, produce significant amounts of elements heavier than Zinc. These earliest stars would create metal poor Population II stars, which in turn formed the very heavy elements in our solar system. I am not an astronomer, but those appear to be legitimate sources in my estimation; I would like to see some references demonstrating that the Sun is of only the second generation. Failing that, I think the page should be changed back. It's also possible that the page should instead be changed to reflect a lack of consensus in the astronomy community if that is the case currently. -- Noren 01:09, 24 March 2006 (UTC)
Is the Sun ever listed in astronomical catalogues? Ardric47 04:59, 24 March 2006 (UTC)
This page is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
I would understand if you had a list that said, "Bodies in the solar system:" but instead the title is "see also:" Why does it say:
If we do this, then we might as well put this on every article:
I think putting a different title than "see also:" is the better way to go.
Solar system:
Sun -
Mercury -
Venus -
Earth -
Mars -
Asteroids -
Jupiter -
Saturn -
Uranus -
Neptune -
Pluto -
Comets
oh $hit, sorry, I didn't realize that all solar system objects had the same thing at the bottom including the "self-link". sorry about that, revert if you like, then go from there. A self-link actually wouldn't be bad. It was the ugly bolded Sun part that looked kind of annoying.
I just saw what you did, it looks better than what was there before. I think because the See also: was on the same link as the Sun before, so it looked a bit messy. But now there is a space, as well as the divider. cool.
Poor Yoric, I don't think it's a good idea to load up the table with all those random factoids. Wikipedia:WikiProject Astronomical Objects has a template for data about stars, and the more stuff the Sun's table gets cluttered up with the more it diverges from that. I'd suggest trying to work them into the body of the article's text instead. Bryan
What does "Atoms undergoing chemical reaction to generate Luminosity" actually mean, anyway? There are no chemical reactions in the Sun, it is composed of plasma. Bryan
Quote from the article:
"This releases energy which escapes from the surface of the Sun as light."
This statement is very misleading as it seems to suggest that energy ONLY escapes from the Sun as light, whereas energy is actually emitted from the Sun across most of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Is there a reason that the Sun's vital statistics give its diameter but those of the planets give their radius? Marnanel 06:53, Apr 2, 2004 (UTC)
Can we put something on the sun's place within the galaxy and upwards in it? i.e. the sun itself rotates around the centre of a galaxy known as the milky way with a centre... (talk)-- BozMo 20:27, 10 May 2004 (UTC)
Quote from the article: "3.9 × 10^45 atoms undergo nuclear reactions there every second" If this were true, the energy output per nuclear reaction would be somewhat less than 1 eV. If we calculate the number of fused hydrogen atoms from the solar power ouput we get about 3.8 × 10^38. Sure, it's less per atom involved in a single reaction (hydrogen first fuses so deuterium and then some more reactions occur), but the energy output of a single reaction is certainly much higher than 1 eV. I'll rewrite that sentence. 193.171.121.30 14:51, 5 Jun 2004 (UTC)
can someone add info about estimates on how much longer the sun will exist before it dies? thanks! Kingturtle 03:49, 17 Sep 2004 (UTC)
Shouldn't the main photographical illustration be a visible-light image of the Sun, rather than an X-ray one? A nice one showing some sunspots and chromosphere will be much better than an X-ray image that looks nothing like one might see in a telescope.
-New Comment- Articles on the remaining life of the sun give conflicting estimates of the life. Britannica 2004 (DVD version) and previous versions of that publication give the remaining life as 100 billion years, based on the amount of hydrogen currently in the sun and the rate of burning. Scientific American, in a July 2004 article, gives the remaining life as only 5 billion years. Of course, both can't be right. I've also read other estimates, such as 10 billion years. The 5 billion year estimate assumes that only the hydrogen in the sun's core will be burned. I only have a bachelors in physics, so I don't have the expertise to say which estimate is right, but I lean toward the 100 billion year figure.
Quoting from the Britannica article: A calculation of the time required to convert all the hydrogen in the Sun provides an estimate of the length of time for which the Sun can continue to radiate energy. Converting 0.7 percent of the 2 × 1033 grams of hydrogen into energy that is radiated at 4 × 1033 ergs per second permits the Sun to shine for 3 × 1018 seconds, or 100 billion years at the present rate.
S.L., 4/4/2006, Fridley, Minnesota, USA
Just how relevant is "Physicists are able to replicate thermonuclear reactions with hydrogen bombs. Sustained nuclear fusion on Earth for electricity generation may be possible in the future, with nuclear fusion reactors."? I hesitate to delete it, because having more information is usually better than having less, but I thought I'd point out how strikingly awkward that inclusion is.
With regard to the Sun page, I was using Allen's Astrophysical quantities for the solar rotation, and the recommended value was 25.38 days. Looking at the rotation periods determined by a whole list of methods, that value had a standard deviation of about 0.6 days. (See solar rotation) Do we want to carry it out to seven decimal places? Also I saw the edit
" This makes it possible for the Sun to rotate faster at its equator
(about 24 days) than it does at higher latitudes (28 days near its poles)."
Don't you mean about 25 days? I just want to make sure I know what you did there before I go and re-edit. Paul Reiser 04:27, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC)
I'm still suspicious of so many digits, given that all those different methods give such varying results, but so be it. I'm sure, however, that the scienceworld quote is wrong. The relationship between solar synodic and sidereal periods is
where D' is synodic period, D is sidereal period, and Y is orbital period of the earth (1 year). Using D=25.38 days, Y=365.25 days, I get D'=27.275267... days. Scienceworld and Allen quote 27.2753, and the old quote from the sun page was equivalent to 27.275 days, so everything fits. I will change the 24 to 25. Paul Reiser 11:49, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC)
We've been trying to work out solar fusion numbers over at Nuclear fusion and Talk:Nuclear fusion - see the "Check these numbers?" section. I'm hoping that some of you folks know more about the solar fusion process than what we were able to piece together and can double-check what we (I) came up with. Thanks. SMesser 21:26, 21 Jan 2005 (UTC)
All we have here are two SOHO pictures using the same special color filter. Can we not use a "normal light" picture on the top, possibly with a couple of sun spots? Awolf002 15:51, 22 Jan 2005 (UTC)
Great! I was combing through NASA images, too. You were more sucessful than me. Thanks! Awolf002 03:16, 23 Jan 2005 (UTC)
I'd like to see the symbol for the Sun in the article. -- FlockofPidgeons 24:06, 11 Feb 2005 (UTC)
The german article of the Sun is superb. I dont know if any of you guys knows German well enough to reuse some of the material but some of the stuff they talk in detail there is not ever mentioned in this article. Regards! -- Smartech 20:44, 13 Mar 2005 (UTC)
I put it into Babelfish, played around with it a little, then put it on a page Sonne translation. Its not a good translation, but its readable. We can edit it, etc. and get an idea of what it is saying. Paul Reiser 00:54, 14 Mar 2005 (UTC)
4.26 million tonnes per second??? Drop the million and you have the correct figure. This can be checked by the famous E = Mc^2
I removed the recently-contributed RED BOX!!!!! on eye damage and added a brief section on it, since this is such a persistent meme. Solar eye damage is a much-overblown hazard: it rarely (if ever) happens to the unaided eye, and there are reports of people staring at the Sun for literally hours with no lasting ill effects. Of course, it is possible to go blind by looking at the Sun through binoculars, but it's also possible to go blind by ramming a fork into the eyes, and there's no BIG RED BOX!!!!! on that page. Sorry for the sarcasm -- I just deal with this sort of thing a lot in Real Life, being a solar physicist. zowie 21:48, 6 May 2005 (UTC)
( SEWilco 02:54, 7 May 2005 (UTC))
Ok, sorry, but under the section title Sun and eye damage there is a chick sun bathing. What's up with that? What has that got anything to do with eye damage? Irrelevant? --
None-of-the-Above
17:27, 5 September 2005 (UTC)
However, it is still very dangerous to view the Sun with binoculars at such times, as ultraviolet light is much less affected by haze and dust, and so its capacity to damage the retina is not reduced
I'm not sure but shouldn't it read `infrared'? Blue light (and ultraviolet) is easier to be scattered. That's why setting sun is red and sky is blue. Anyway isn't it that the setting (or rising) sun is just still quite bright and with optical enhancing can be dangerous regardless of the wavelength? Poszwa 03:15, 13 October 2005 (UTC)
I put the bold sentences in there to highlight the key information in each paragraph. If they offend anyone, please feel free to remove the boldness -- but please also edit the text to highlight those sentences in some other way. The point is to draw the eye to the main point of the paragraph, without resorting to a BIG RED BOX!!! (see above). zowie 20:07, 13 October 2005 (UTC)
Could someone put in an exact quote from that cited article about chlororetinal temperature. I'd always heard that old-time marine navigators lost their eyesight all the time, because of old navigation techniques that involved looking at the sun with one eye. That's why you'd see so many sea-captains and pirates wearing eyepatches. Phr 14:42, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
There is a big list at the bottom of the article, "See Also". Isn't this what categories are for? Should there be a Sun category? Ebeisher 16:37, 26 May 2005 (UTC)
Are we supposed to put new posts at the top or bottom? Sorry if I'm doing something wrong, this is my first ever post on a talk page. Anyway. I feel that this article is biased. It comes across as saying that the Nuclear Fusion Theory of the Sun is fact. It isn't fact, it's just the most commonly accepted mainstream Theory. It totally neglects to say any of this, much less mention that the info is based on a theory, it just goes on like it is fact (something that I have seen in other encyclopedia's, website articles, spoken word etc). There is no mention of the Electric Star, (The Electric Universe Theory), which is quickly becoming another popular theory, and one that makes more sense IMHO. FistOfFury 30 June 2005 23:56 (UTC)
On a side note from the Electric Sun theory (I think), can we have a section that mentions the claims by Dr Manuel Oliver that the Sun is in fact made mostly of Iron, not Hydrogen? I came across this today and it makes sense to me, as well as appearing to have appeared in a fair number of peer reviewed mainstream journals. It is certainly NOT accepted with entirely open arms, but I would think it useful to list it under the Problems section. Some links:
-- User:Falkayn
Heavy elements such as uranium can be produced by a supernova (nearly everyone's favorite theory and the reason most interested scientists believe that the Sun is a second-generation star); but they can also be produced by neutron absorption inside a massive star. That second process should be mentioned for completeness although it also supports the idea that the Sun is second-generation (which is why I just edited it back in :-). zowie 5 July 2005 15:20 (UTC)
Taking a cursory look at this; it would appear to me that a newcomer was biten and Wikipolicy could have been explained along with a short answer to the question(s) on this page and 84's talk page, regardless of wether they were in good faith. Furthermore, isn't the Wikipedia:Reference_desk a viable option? Unless I'm missing some backstory here. - Roy Boy 800 01:04, 11 July 2005 (UTC)
Hmmm. Maybe I acted in haste -- but there *is* a section on this Talk page that discusses the very question that was asked, and a section in the main article answering it. I saw the L337-5p34k and figured it was a troll. So, uh, what now? zowie 04:04, 11 July 2005 (UTC)
I would like to change the intro to this article. The current first two sentences:
are misleading, I think, and would be much better if changed to the following:
Use of 'sun' as a synonym for 'star' is generally figurative and in common and astronomical usage, the word 'sun' implicitly means 'the' Sun, hence my change to the first sentence. Given that change, the second sentence can be shortened, and I don't see the point of linking to Sol seeing as it's a disambiguation page which will lead the reader back to this article.
Seeing as there are currently a few disagreements between me and others about the use of Sun/Sol (see Talk:Solar system and Wikipedia:Categories for deletion/Log/2005 July 16) I thought I would make my suggestion on the talk page first. Worldtraveller 16:36, 19 July 2005 (UTC)
Worldtraveller, have you got a source for the G2V classification for the sun asd the specific criteria that make it so? PJO 17:37:34, 2005-08-02 (UTC) I found a citation, and specified in the article what the various parts of "G2V" signify. PJO 17:47:35, 2005-08-02 (UTC)
I already found a source explaining what the "V" meant, that's what I was looking for, and I added it to the article. PJO 18:28:35, 2005-08-02 (UTC)
I removed the reference to this because it doesn't make sense to describe the sun as a 'source' of photosynthesis, which is a chemical reaction. I also changed the description of the sun as essential to all life because it's not completely true - volcanic vents on the ocean floor are one example of a place where life proliferates without aid from the sun. Worldtraveller 16:11, 1 September 2005 (UTC)
This must reflect some different understanding that we have. My understanding is that it makes perfect sense to describe the Sun as the 'source' of photosynthesis. Could you explain more why being a chemical reaction means the Sun is not the source of it? It's a scientific phenomenon that needs to be linked from this page in the interest of knowledge, which is not what we're supposed to suppress. And as for the volcanic vents, I also have a different understanding. Perhaps you are suggesting they would still have life in them if the earth were off in deep space and nowhere near a sun... Codex Sinaiticus 16:19, 1 September 2005 (UTC)
Well, the other ways are already mentioned: light, and heat. This looks to be the logical place to link it, behind the other two, unless there be a better place or section. You don't think it's significant enough for the lead? Codex Sinaiticus 17:34, 1 September 2005 (UTC)
So you don't want to mention it at all. By the way, do all scientists unanimously agree that life could exist without a Sun... or is there some disagreement within the scientific community on this? Codex Sinaiticus 17:53, 1 September 2005 (UTC)
Codex Sinaiticus, please can you explain why you feel that photosynthesis must be mentioned in the lead section? There are many processes which rely on the Sun's light and/or heat; why emphasise this one? Worldtraveller 16:06, 6 September 2005 (UTC)
This time I got rid of the photosynthesis reference. It has no place in the introductory paragraph -- this is an article about the Sun, not about plant metabolism. I'm willing to accept a photosynthesis reference farther down in a section on (say) "sunlight as a source of power" thhat discusses the solar constant and solar power generation -- but it really doesn't belong in the top paragraph. zowie 19:50, 6 September 2005 (UTC)
Okay, I got off my duff and wrote a draft 1-para section on solar power and photosynthesis. Please feel free to hack at it. It might address Codex Sinaiticus's valid concern that photosynthesis (and other types of energy storage) should at least be mentioned, while also not diverting the focus of the introduction. zowie 20:06, 6 September 2005 (UTC)
I removed a claim that was at best misleading -- that atoms can exist in the convection zone, but the Sun is composed of plasma everywhere else. While some hydrogen is neutral in the outer part of the convection zone, it is mixed with a much larger percentage of ionized hydrogen -- and the material is best called "plasma" everywhere in the Sun, including the photosphere. (The temperature at the base of the convection zone is about 2,000,000 K; hydrogen becomes fully ionized somewhere around 160,000 K.) zowie 08:09, 12 September 2005 (UTC)
Can we have an image similar to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Earth-Moon.jpg? I know that the size difference and space would be massive, but I'm trying to explain the size differences to my daughter, and she's just not grasping it. I think a similar image would be helpful.
I found it odd that the spectral calss of the sun (ie G2) is not included in the main table at the top right, which has all the orbital, physical etc information. Is there a particular reason for this? It seems as though that table (and indeed the table for all stars) would be the perfect place to have such a basic piece of information.
Thoughts?
We seem to be having a difference of opinion regarding how long photons stay inside the Sun. Previously the article stated 1,000,000 years; I claim it is 160,000 - 200,000 years, though someone has reverted this. I can point you towards at least one astronomy professor who can back me up. This, of course, does not automatically trump whatever other source was used to arrive at the 1,000,000 number, but I think we need some discussion to come to a concensus. Spamguy 04:06, 26 November 2005 (UTC)
I really must object to the heavy treatment that the current article has about "photon travel time". The photons that escape the surface are not related at all to the photons at the center of the Sun. They differ in spectrum and in energy per photon (there are several million visible light photons emitted for every fusion-related gamma ray, and are the result of a very large number of absorption/re-emission operations in the radiative zone. Photon travel time is a sexy popularization but does not capture the actual physics that is happening. It is far, far better to speak of "energy travel time", and even that is misleading. (For example, many people are under the mistaken impression that, if the solar core were to stop fusing, then we would not find out about it for thousands to millions of years, because that is the average energy travel time from the core to the photosphere; but the latter does not imply the former. The sound transit time is a matter of hours, and that is the important time scale for such things.) I do not have time just now to compose a variant that does not mention photon travel time, but expect one in the near future. zowie 18:28, 26 November 2005 (UTC)
This is trivially debunked. You can find your own sources easily enough with Google, or go straight to Phil Plait's page about it. In summary, they're just CCD glitches which are extremely common, reproduceable, and well understood. Nothing to see here; move along. — HorsePunchKid→ 龜 2005-12-05 05:09:15 Z
I have to dispute this edit, for now (and will remove it). Can you provide a reference for this, since I am pretty sure it still is radioactivity that provides the largest amount of energy to geothermal heat. Awolf002 18:51, 10 January 2006 (UTC)
NP, just keep checking yourself :-) Awolf002 22:27, 10 January 2006 (UTC)
I do not believe this article follows the NPOV policy of wikipedia I quote: "...the star at the center of our Solar system..." that is a very earth centric view and I believe the 'our' should be taken out. There are outsiders living here too you know. -- 128.227.34.184 12:18, 15 February 2006 (UTC)
Yeah last I checked this system is "our" system in the same way that a job is "your" job, or how its "my family". Yeah sure other people still have the same job, and there are people who share the family with me, but as long as I have part of a stake in it, its "my job, my family, our solar system" etc. As long as we dont indicate exclusive, and even thats up for grabs since this isn't the science fiction database of whoseywhatsits. (watch out for the technical jargon).-- Oni Ookami Alfador Talk| @ 21:38, 15 February 2006 (UTC)
I eliminated a clause that the "heliospheric current sheet is the largest structure in the solar system". It's not. The heliopause is. It has to be -- it is large enough to contain the heliospheric current sheet. zowie 22:34, 21 February 2006 (UTC)
Does anyone else think this article could be ready for one? Any thoughts on what else it needs, if anything? Worldtraveller 23:36, 18 February 2006 (UTC)
I'm pretty happy with the structure, though I preferred the atmospheric section split out into temperature-minimum, chromosphere and corona rather than grouped into one. Thanks for the general overhaul and nit-picking. zowie 03:51, 19 February 2006 (UTC)
All seems like a good idea to me. Looks pretty much ready. If anyone nominates it, please leave a note on my talk page if you want my vote. I'm a lot more likely to check there.-- Oni Ookami Alfador Talk| @ 05:54, 20 February 2006 (UTC)
This article is incomprehensive unless it expands on sun in fiction, religion and culture in general.-- Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus Talk 19:51, 26 February 2006 (UTC)
Well, OK, but it's a little over the top to hold up a cheesy whodunit with a guilty butler, as high culture. zowie 01:56, 27 February 2006 (UTC)
Please add a reference for this new section. All I saw was a Reuters news item, not any source that would satisfy the reliable sources policy for this type of article. Thanks! Awolf002 22:10, 6 March 2006 (UTC)
Quote-"more than 99% of the solar system's mass is contained in it." How can more than 99% of the solar system's mass be contained in the Sun? Wouldn't that have to mean that all of the mass of the solar system is contained in the Sun (which is certainly not true)? 64.192.107.242 13:39, 8 March 2006 (UTC)
Isnt't the intro a violation of the NPOV policy? "Our solar system" is clearly a reflection of a Terrestrian point of view. Kpalion 18:43, 19 March 2006 (UTC)
Now, is our Sun the only Sun? I mean, I hear astronomers say "there may be other planets revolving around other Suns". I mean, is "Sun" a pronoun? Or is "Sun" a word to describe a star around which planets revolve? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by [[User:67.165.87.40]|67.165.87.40]]] ([[User talk:67.165.87.40]|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/67.165.87.40]|contribs]]) 01:08, March 20, 2006 (UTC)
i'm glad this article has made featured status, it is certainly worthy. however, my only quibble is that i don't understand why the least impressive picture of the sun is the one at the top. surely the image should inspire awe in the reader; the current one is just rubbish. the opening one on the main page is dead good, should we use that instead? i'm new to the whole astrophysics thing, is there some sort of standard in place? mastodon 00:59, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
I posted the other day about how I was happy about the West Wing being featured as a fan of the show. But dammit, I'm proud as living being that the Sun is featured. TKE 01:33, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
I heard 20 billion years. Sometimes 5. I read it from the featured page and there's no mention of it that I can see in the article (it is really long too). The article needs this. 206.11.112.251 01:42, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
I find it highly unlikely that this "sun" is notable. It doesn't even appear to have its own website, as sun.com is a link to a computer hardware company. Furthermore, I believe it may be a hoax, based on the existence of this garage band's myspace account: http://www.myspace.com/thesun . I'm unsure whether to simply add a speedy deletion tag, or use the full AfD procedure. Your thoughts? -- Xyzzyplugh 01:47, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
This is going in BJAODN. Great. Daniel Case 05:28, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
Quoting from the FA:
"Energy from the Sun has supported almost all life on Earth through photosynthesis since the appearance of the first organisms. Humans use sunlight for eyesight, warmth, growing crops, and powering solar cells."
And taking a Q from xyz... , who started this:
Its PoV: Alleges only humans have any use for it.
Is unclear: Which is the *some* (maybe 0.2%) of life it has not supported.
Thx. And congratulations. Tho' I'm still a Conn. Yankee! :-) VivekM 20:27, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
"...from geothermal forms...?" And from whence did that originate, h'mmm?....LOL Britmax 12:16, 8 June 2006 (UTC)
Here is what the chart says about the velocity of the sun "217 km/s relative to center of Galaxy, 20 km/s relative to average velocity of other stars in neighborhood". I thought that velocity have to have a direction, so where is the sun going 217km/s? Away from the center of the galaxy? To the center of the galaxy? Where are we going 20 km/s relative to average velocity of other stars in neighborhood? Away from the center of the galaxy? To the center of the galaxy? North 67 degrees west? I think the direction should be indicated not assumed Pseudoanonymous 03:09, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
There's no mention in this article about the primary contribution of the sun to life on Earth: a source of well-ordered light which allows the Earth to be an "entropy engine," harnessing the light and releasing thermal, mostly infrared radiation. As you can tell me understanding of this subject is vague, but surely it's worth a mention. In ecology textbooks the use of sun in photosynthesis et al. (enthalpy) is mentioned to the exclusion of the sun as a source of ordered, uniform light waves, thus permitting the local anti-entropic development of life in exchange for the highly disordered thermal radiation that organisms emit. Ryanluck 09:03, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
I semiprotected this article after a user request and in light of the fact that there has been a rash of recent anon vandalism. Let me know if and when you'd like it removed. Gator (talk) 15:39, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
I have tried to address some of the kneejerk Earth-centrism in this article, but it's an uphill battle. When will the Earthling provincialism end? At the very least, no more "our"s in the article, "our solar system", "our galaxy", et cetera. For shame. Babajobu 18:01, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
There should probably at least be links to Solar deity, Solar symbol, etc... AnonMoos 20:08, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
Near the top of the page, it says 36 days, but futher down says 35 days for a polar rotation. I figure it's somewhere inbetween but it should be the same throughout the article. 207.165.145.65 20:50, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
Perhaps this webpage (provides its own references nicely enough, may aid in adressing the issue. [3] If I am correct it has something to do with relative drag effects, incidental of the fluid nature of solar plasma. Consider it simmilar to reasoning for ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream.-- Oni Ookami Alfador Talk| @ 03:08, 21 March 2006 (UTC)
Is it Scientifically correct to say that the sun will 'evolve'? -- Science Lord 20:52, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
Yes. Remember, differentiation of species by natural selection is one very specific meaning of evolution. The more general meaning is change over time, with a connotation of gradual change. zowie 21:05, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
If the sun is a 'yellow star' and lovely large detailed pictures seem to support it, how is it that sunlight is full spectrum? If the sun LOOKS yellow, meaning yellow light is what meets the eye/camera, then logically you conclude the sun doesn't give off any light of a non-yellow frequency, yet we know it does, because when you split sunlight in a prism, there's all the other colors. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.26.169.37 ( talk • contribs) 23:22, March 20, 2006 (UTC)
zowie 22:38, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
I wasn't expecting my earlier minor edit to be controversial. I don't understand what purpose is served by comparision of the Sun's circumference to the Earth's diameter. I would find it far more intuitive to do an 'apples to apples' comparison, and to say that the Sun's circumference is 109 times that of the Earth... and its diameter is 109 times that of the Earth. It seems that this is a pointless multiplication by π, given that they're both spheres to within the three significant figures shown here. Removal of the 'earths' comparison of the circumference entirely on the grounds that it is redundant would also make sense to me. -- Noren 01:01, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
I made an edit earlier stating that the sun was of at least the third generation, which has since been (partially) reverted. My understanding is that the earliest stars are believed to have formed from matter containing nearly no elements heavier than lithium, and thus the CNO cycle could not occur until after the core was hot enough to perform a triple-alpha process. (A recent web site on Population III stars is here.) I have read that these Population III stars did not, therefore, produce significant amounts of elements heavier than Zinc. These earliest stars would create metal poor Population II stars, which in turn formed the very heavy elements in our solar system. I am not an astronomer, but those appear to be legitimate sources in my estimation; I would like to see some references demonstrating that the Sun is of only the second generation. Failing that, I think the page should be changed back. It's also possible that the page should instead be changed to reflect a lack of consensus in the astronomy community if that is the case currently. -- Noren 01:09, 24 March 2006 (UTC)
Is the Sun ever listed in astronomical catalogues? Ardric47 04:59, 24 March 2006 (UTC)