List of contents

Preface
Principal units, solar quantities, and fundamental constants

1 The Sun's domain
1.1 Fire of life
1.2 Radiation from the Sun
1.3 Physical characteristics of the Sun
1.4 Gravity's center
1.5 Spectroscopy and the ingredients of the Sun
1.6 The planets are inside the expanding Sun
1.7 How the solar system came into being

2 The Sun as a star
2.1 The Sun's place in the Milky Way
2.2 The Sun's place in the Universe
2.3 How stars evolve

3 What makes the Sun shine?
3.1 Awesome power, enormous times
3.2 A hot, dense core
3.3 Nuclear fusion reactions in the Sun
3.4 The mystery of solar neutrinos
3.5 The Sun's remote past and distant future

4 Inside the Sun
4.1 How the energy gets out
4.2 Taking the Sun's pulse
4.3 Sounds inside the Sun
4.4 Internal motions

5 The magnetic solar atmosphere
5.1 The photosphere and its magnetism
5.2 The solar chromosphere
5.3 The solar corona - loops, holes and unexpected heat

6 The explosive Sun
6.1 Solar flares
6.2 Coronal mass ejections and eruptive prominences
6.3 Theories for explosive solar activity
6.4 Predicting explosions on the Sun

7 The Sun's winds
7.1 The fullness of space
7.2 Where do the Sun's winds come from?
7.3 Getting up to speed
7.4 Termination of the solar wind

8 The Sun-Earth connection
8.1 The Earth's magnetic influence
8.2 Geomagnetic storms and terrestrial auroras
8.3 Danger blowing in the wind
8.4 The varying Sun and its effect on the Earth's atmosphere
8.5 The Sun's role in warming and cooling the Earth

9 Observing the Sun
9.1 Ground-based optical observing
9.2 Ground-based radio observations of the Sun
9.3 Observing the Sun from space
9.4 The next solar missions

Appendix 1 Further reading
Appendix 2 Directory of web sites
Glossary
Index