The brand new Snapchat space series has just been launched by Futura: Swipe Into Space! On the program, answers to the many questions we ask ourselves about the cosmos. For this tenth episode, our star is in the spotlight, the Sun!
Notice to lovers of SnapchatFutura launches a brand new children’s series on space and the sciences of theUniverse : Swipe Into Space. Through dynamic episodes of approximately three minutes, sprinkled with grandiose illustrations and face-to-face sequences, you will discover many mysteries of the cosmosof the edge of the universe to the formation of our planet.
Each week, Thibaut, from the editorial staff of Futura, will answer one of the many questions that we could ask ourselves. How was the Moon ? What is the Starshipthis rocket new generation that promises to send men to Mars? How does a spacewalk take place? What fate awaits our Universe? What if we could travel to the speed of light ?
In this tenth episode: the Sun, which is halfway through its life
He constantly enlightens us, allowed theemergence of life…the Sun was born 4.5 billion years ago. The Earth quickly followed, first present in the form of dust in the protoplanetary disc that circled the Sun in its youth. The latter, if it seems gigantic to us, in fact belongs to the yellow dwarfs ! It nevertheless shelters extreme temperatures, even on its surface, where the matter is heated to more than 5,500°C. It is there in the form of plasma, gas heated to a very high temperature, so that it was ionized.
The different movements interiors of the Sun also create a powerful magnetic field around it, sometimes causing what are called solar flares. During such events, large quantities of charged particles are emitted, some of which arrive towards the Earth. These solar storms are particularly at the origin of polar aurora, creating beautiful colorful ripples in the sky. But they can also jam telecommunications, and could cause a real blackout all over the world!
At present, the Sun is about halfway through its life. It continues for the moment to burn its fuel, thehydrogen, by nuclear fusions. It is a perfect balance between gravity and radiation. But when all the hydrogen will be consumed, then the slow death of our star will begin. In 5 million years, it will become a red giant: its outer layers will be pushed back, and its diameter will increase from 700,000 kilometers to 170 million kilometers! Knowing that the Earth-Sun distance is 150 million kilometers, we will therefore be swallowed up… but don’t worry, all of this will not happen for some 5 billion years! To learn more about the secrets of our star, you will have to go to Swipe Into Space !
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