The Sun

Essential for life on earth and a major influence on our environment, the Sun is also the most fascinating object in the daytime sky. Every day we feel the effect of its coming and going - literally the difference between day and night. But figuring out what the Sun is, what it's made of, why it glows so brightly, how old it is, how long it will last - all of these take thought and observation. Leon Golub and Jay M. Pasachoff offer an engaging and informative account of what scientists know about the Sun, and the history of these discoveries. Solar astronomers have studied the Sun over the centuries both for its intrinsic interest and in order to use it as a laboratory to reveal the secrets of other stars. The authors discuss the surface of the Sun, including sunspots and their eleven-year cycle, as well as the magnetism that causes them; the Sun's insides, as studied mainly from seismic waves that astronomers record on its surface; the outer layers of the Sun that we see from Earth only at eclipses and from spacecraft; and space weather, the radiation and particles that we on Earth receive from the Sun in flares or other ejections. Golub and Pasachoff also provide instructions on how to observe the Sun safely, and how to attend and to observe solar eclipses. Illustrated with a wide variety of beautiful solar images, this informative book will appeal to both scientists and a more general readership interested in this star at the centre of our solar system. Published in association with the Science Museum, London.