Month: July 2025

SOLAR LUMINOSITY – The total amount of energy emitted by the Sun per second, about 3.8 × 10²⁶ watts.

ENERGY OUTPUT – The total energy the Sun releases, primarily as light and heat, essential for life on Earth.

ENERGY TRANSPORT – The process by which energy produced in the Sun’s core is transported outward through radiation and convection.

CNO CYCLE – A secondary nuclear fusion process in stars heavier than the Sun, where carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen nuclei act as catalysts to fuse hydrogen into helium.

PROTON-PROTON CHAIN – The primary fusion process in the Sun, where hydrogen nuclei (protons) fuse to form helium and release energy.

NUCLEAR FUSION – The process in which hydrogen nuclei combine to form helium, releasing vast amounts of energy in the Sun’s core.

SOLAR ACTIVITY CYCLE – The roughly 11-year cycle of solar activity, including variations in sunspot numbers, solar flares, and the solar wind.

CORE TEMPERATURE – The temperature at the center of the Sun, approximately 15 million degrees Celsius, where fusion occurs.

NEUTRAL HYDROGEN – Hydrogen atoms that are not ionized, often found in the outer layers of the Sun’s atmosphere.