The Sun is a mass of incandescent gas...

Many people probably have heard the song by They Might Be Giants called "Why Does the Sun Shine"

Oh wait, this is incorrect.  The Sun is not a mass of incandescent gas. It's actually what scientists call a plasma*.

 

*a plasma is a state of matter that is similar to gas except that all the molecules are ionized.

 

They Might Be Giants kindly updated the song to be scientifically correct.

 

So why is the Sun wacky?  It's been shining since day one of Earth some four and half billion years ago, so we know everything about it, right?  Well, maybe, but there are some strange things about it.

 

 

1) The Sun does not rotate uniformly

2) The Sun is highly differentiated

3) The Sun belches...a lot

4) The Sun has belimishes

5) The light we see on Earth actually is hundred's of thousands of years old

6) The Sun is actually very average compared to other stars. Wait, that's not strange. Or is it?

 

 

The next few blog posts will explain these six things, so stay tuned for more.....