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Call for questions: THE SUN (Patreon)

Published:
2024-03-04 22:44:01
Imported:
2026-06

Content

On April 8, a total solar eclipse will cross North America. To pregame, I'll be talking to a heliologist. What fun sun questions do you have (related to the eclipse or not)? 

Deadline: Friday, March 8 at 5pm PST

Comments

Olivia Coppin

How many people do you reckon were blinded by the sun or at least had their eyes damaged during eclipses thousands of years ago before we realised you couldn't look at the sun like that?

Matt Thompson

How do we know the solar activity level for things like auroras?

Anna Thompson

I can't wait to hear clips from They Might Be Giants scattered throughout!

Elta Sparks

Why do solar flares affect things like cell phone coverage?

Anna Thompson

Do we need to be terrified of sun storms and sun spots?

Kendall M

How scared should I be about solar flares?

KELLIE D MORGANTINI

How much less solar energy is there getting to solar panels? Is it enough to ale a dip in electricity?

EmmaB

Can you talk about the possibility of a solar flare wiping out power grids/ messing up electronics?

mish the fish

i hope y'all use the clip from the office of gabe saying, "shut up about the sun!"

Gustav Golden

Does the sun have different levels of density, does it have layers like the earth and other planets?

Abraham Livingston

Do you think humans will be around when the Sun swallows the Earth whole and if you do, what is our best solution for further survival?

Devin McPeek

Origins of our sun? And how are suns in other solar systems similar and/or different from our sun?

erica smith

Is the sun on fire? 😉🤔

Bradley Ladwig

What is the likelihood of a severe solar storm that could knock out worldwide communication systems?

Em

Is the sun on fire? lol

Chrysalis Ashton

What actually is happening during a solar “storm”?

Julia Lorraine

Can I get the cheap solar eclipse glasses or do I need high tech ones? I’d like to keep my eyeballs in tact after observing this incredible phenomenon

Rebecca Roehm

As a heliologist, can you rally your heliologists friends around the globe to abolish the Daylight Saving Time Change? Please!!!

Tristin Berg

Can scientists monitor the health of the sun? If so, how is our big star doin’?

Tyler J Poeti

How devastating would it be if the Earth were just a smidge closer to or further away from the sun?

Wetland Warrior

How close do you have to be to the sun to instantly catch on fire?

Julia Lorraine

Any interesting/bizarre historical interpretations of solar eclipses? Were they considered omens/signs from god(s)/sign of impending doom?

Stephanie Leské

Sun folklore storytime please! Stephanie leské.

Robin C Pike

First time question asker: How many solar eclipses has the ologist attended? How far have they traveled to attend one?

Kelly Shaver

In new Captain Marvel movie, she flies through a dying sun to reignite it. Could anything actually reignite a dying sun?

Rachel Guthrie

Why do I sneeze when I go out into the sun?? When I go outside on a sunny day from a dark building like a movie theater, I always sneeze!

Oren Simchy

How much are researchers considering “solar dimming”/geoengineering as a viable option to prevent more global warming? Or is this still a kind of fringe area?

Ashley Bower

I’ve heard before that the solar system is like a toilet bowl and all the planets are getting closer and closer to the sun. Is that true? Will our solar system eventually be taken out by our own sun or is that unlikely?

Hope J 🏳️‍🌈

Why is it called the “sun” and what is the scientific name for our specific sun? When something gets close to a “sun” does it evaporate, melt, explode, or none of the above?

Gavin Taylor

How do dark spots on the sun work?

RJ Doidge

I understand *why* we don’t look directly, but what is the science behind that?

Nick

Humans are told not to look at the sun without glasses. Do animals have a reflex not to stare at the eclipse or are they just screwed?

Charlotte Parkinson

No question. I just wanted to say that without the sun, life would be pretty dim... I'll see myself out

Nick A

If we need the sun to live, then why do we get sunburn? (maybe that's for a different ologist)

Ellie Engebretson

It’s made of gas, so if we were fully fire proof (couldn’t be hurt by the heat) could we go through the sun, and how long would it take??

Christine Pikstein (she/her)

Why does the sun appear yellow in the sky instead of some other color? (from my smologite, Jonathan)

Zuleika Pevec

Just heard about this hereditary condition on Murder at the End of the World…it’s a plot twist!

Allison Hatz

What’s your take on kids drawing sunglasses on their suns? 😎

Emma Doyle

How do suns in other solar systems compare to ours? Are they basically the same or do they vary like planets?

Kelly Shaver

What would happen if we had another solar megastorm like the Carrington event but with our modern infrastructure?

Zuleika Pevec

I know we wouldn’t be able to see the corona, but is a solar eclipse less awesome if it is overcast? I’ll be driving 14 hours in April…and keeping an eye on the weather.

Raja

Is the risk of injury to ones eyes, if looking at the sun, actually higher during a solar eclipse or is the danger level the same as it always is? Having trouble finding this info online and our team of educators is running an event that day and want to sound smart! 😄 Name pronounced Raya, like papaya.

Seán Thomas Kane

Do solar flares have cycles of greater and lesser power? The Aurora borealis seems to have been visible much further south this winter than usual.

Pavka34

Why are stars either giants or dwarfs? Was D&D involved at all?

Eating dog hair for a living

When I was a kid the teacher told us to get a box and make a tiny hole in it with a pin. Then aim it where the sun is during the eclipse and you'll be able to watch it, and it worked! Who figured that out, and is there a way to make it bigger and not distort the image?

Renee Wanger

How accurate is the They Might Be Giants song: Why does the sun shine? Any other songs/movies/fictional media that does a good job?

Felix Lasselle

Is the Sun actually made on fire? Or is it just very energetic plasma that we equate to fire?

Pavka34

Should u really drop everything and get myself somewhere to see the next solar eclipse?

Dionne Needham

How powerful is solar wind? If a spaceship had a sail to catch the wind would the ship travel very far or fast 🤨 (leaving aside any other issues of this being a possibility🤣)

Rachel Bradbury

How much life is left in the sun? Is it likely to outlive the human species or is there a possibility our descendents will witness its demise?

Theresa Carey

Are there total solar eclipses on any other planets in our solar system? Or is Earth unique because of the moon’s size?

Gigi Owen

does the sun sound like anything?

Bassist Ex Machina

What’s a worst-case scenario for solar flares? Are radio and cell phone interruptions as bad as it gets or could the sun body slam the whole planet back to the Stone Age?

Melizzards

When looking for habitable zones, does the type of star matter? Do certain stars exclude habitability in those galaxies?

Felix Lasselle

Have they seen the movie Sunshine? Great sci-fi movie about the Sun, how scientifically accurate/plausible is it?

Zuleika Pevec

Why does sun exposure make our faces wrinkly over time? If I hadn’t been a sun worshipper in my youth, would I be less wrinkly?

Philip Hallett

Does the sun have anything resembling an atmosphere? Do the gases and things being spewed out count, or is it called something different for stars?

Nicky G

Can you explain fission vs fusion as it relates to stars like our sun?

Theresa Carey

From personal (and quite unfortunate) experience, if the region of the sky where the eclipsed sun is located is blocked by clouds, you will experience a slight dimming of light but not much else. This happened to us in Hawaii in July 1991 and broke my heart.

Robin C Pike

How far from the sun do solar cells work in the solar system? Would solar power work the same on Mars? Other planets/moons?

jen baker

Why/How do sun farts (flares) affect us?

Anjali Himali

Why does the sun have vitamin d and why is it so important? Can you survive/live well without any sun exposure at all?

Mike Campbell

Approximately how much time does it take from the moment two hydrogen nuclei are crushed into one helium nucleus (assuming they are right at the center of the Sun) until some light "directly" as a result of that fusion exits the Sun and starts traveling to Earth?

Kai Tone Rossow

Why is the corona so much hotter than the surface? (name pronounced like Tony)

Kate Herrmann

Can you please explain (to my sister) that climate change is not related to the sun getting hotter as it ages?

Voxothoth

how do we know what the core and other layers of the sun are made out of?

Naomi Crawford

How does a sun form? Are there any suns forming in other galaxies (?solar systems??) at the moment? Is that how it even works?! Pls help me I am not good at space.

Colby Evans

Is it Phil Plait? Is it Phil Plait? Is it Phil Plait?

Chris Moore

Favorite song about the sun: - Terry Jacks “Seasons in the sun” - The Vaselines “Jesus wants me for a sunbeam” - NIRVANA “All apologies” - Beatles “Good day sunshine”

Rick Gillespie

Why do we refer to other star systems as "solar systems" when ours is named that because of the name of our sun (Sol)?

Lee Wang

How much of Earth's life is sustained by our sun? I know that it's something in the neighborhood of "most," but is there a more sciencey measure or description of its contributions?

Rick Gillespie

How many other planets experience total eclipses?

Elizabeth Altman

What is the possibility of solar flares taking out our electronic grid?

Valerie Bertha

As our moon moves away from the Earth , when will total eclipses of the sun stop?

Domino Cohn

Hi! First time question asker (*blush*). What are we, as a species, doing to prepare for the next big solar event?

Carlos Berrocal

How does the Sun (any star) gets made? What makes solar fusion kick off?

Pavka34

If the sun disappeared tomorrow what would happen to the earth and the rest of the solar system?

Claire Richie

First time question-asker wants to know why solar flares happen! And how scared we should be of them eek

Pavka34

Yes please! This!

Gabrielle Jolin

The Solar eclipse will be seen in my town in northern Maine. What’s the best kind of solar eclipse glasses to get? I’m a teacher and I want to get some for my students!!

Francesca Huggins

The Green Flash- what is it, why does it happen, and where can I see it?

Pavka34

If a planet is in a habitable zone but tidally locked, with one side facing its sun, is it habitable? What would life be like on that world? What would the weather be like with those temperature extremes?

Madalyn Freedman

Is there something specific about our Sun that is especially conducive to supporting life, compared to other stars? If so, what is it? On that note, how do stars differ from one another, apart from age and size? (1st time Q asker also)

Hannah Riedl

How does the sun give us vitamin d?

Will

I thought I was crazy to make this connection for so long until I looked it up and found out that yes, sunlight is actually making me sneeze!

Jane Nelson

Don't forget They Might Be Giants "Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)"

Sam

How do you feel about Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s plan to set fire to the sun??

Caro Young

Once our sun runs out of fuel, how long will it take for it to die? And what will happen to our solar system?

Will

What are the chances that in my lifetime (let’s be optimistic and say that’s another 60 years) there will be a solar flare that knocks out all telecommunications like at the beginning of War of the Worlds?

Jane Nelson

Dumbest question I can think of to ask a smart person: As a very fair-skinned and be-freckled child, my parents told me the sun's rays were more dangerous when it was cloudy outside. Is this true or was it just some BS they made up to get me to stop complaining about always having to wear sunblock?

Caro Young

Can there be more than one sun in a solar system?

DJ and Melissa

(first time question asker) My partner and I had a two hour long discussion during a road trip once about whether or not the sun is alive. We were inconclusive. What does a heliologist think?

Matt Ceccato

If our sun is a medium-sized star, what is larger, star wise?

Ariana Rose

Are there any unique phenomena that happen on earth in the path of totality during a solar eclipse? Apart from the weird things we humans do during it that is... 😂

Caro Young

Could we learn from the sun, ie is hydrogen fusion a sustainable option for energy generation in earth?

ReigningEmily

Not sure if this is specifically your purview, however. What do you think it says about us as humans that globally most deities associated with the sun are male? Moreover do you have any thoughts on pantheons having different deities for the sun at different times ie dawn/noon/dusk?

Brianna

Opinions on sun gazing ?

Caro Young

How big is the biggest star we know compared to our sun? And the smallest? Is there a minimum size requirement?

Adam Foote

If people were on the moon looking towards Earth during the eclipse what would it look like? Would Earth look red like the moon does in a lunar eclipse?

Andie Townsend

My fiancé would like to know just how concerned we should be about solar flares???

Mark Payton

How large would an object have to be in order to effect suns gravitational pull after impact? What are the chances of our sun burning out in the next 1000 years?

Will Clark

Please explain the solar cycle (7 year).

Paul Hoffman

How different is the sun from nearby stars, other than by size?

Meagan Walker

How can we predict solar flares that provide northern lights?

Meagan Walker

How much impact on tides does the sun have compared to the moon?

Olivier Calas

We know that our sun is bound to die in a couple billions years. Will it extinguish itself slowly or will there be violent temperature changes?

Meagan Walker

How close could you get to the sun before you melted?

Frank E. Curtis

Is there any conceivable way for humans to destroy our sun (not that we'd want to)?

Travis Brooks

This. There was an article in The New Yorker recently about flares and coronal mass ejections crippling our electrical grids (imminent?), but will we go full Dark Angel, like all electronics fried and bricked, or will a solar array with battery backup spare us?

Quintan Regan

What is the farthest solar system from ours in which the sun could be visible to the naked eye in the night sky? In other words, could our sun be part of alien mythology/constellations?

Lori Sacco

My husband just read an article about solar storms and it said that a storm would shut down the electrical grid among other disasters. How likely is this? Doesn't sound that a "go-bag" would even be appropriate in a case like world-wide electrical and gps outage.

Caro Young

Can you talk about solar flares please? What are the implications?

Emma is Rosey

Why is my skin clearer when it’s sunny?

Emma is Rosey

Is there any solid matter in the sun?

Debs Gardner

I know the sun goes through 11-year solar cycles, with more sunspots and activity at solar maximum and fewer sunspots and less activity at solar minimum. But why are some solar cycles more active than others? Why is it that sometimes solar maximum is kind of a dud and sometimes it produces tons of sunspots and solar flares?

goatleaf

First time question asker here! -Can there be a long-living eclipse (is there a way for the sun to be obstructed for long periods of time) and how long has the longest eclipse lasted? -Where does the sun get its energy from? What periodic elements make up the sun? When did the sun form and how did it form?

Brie Stewart

Shelby Stewart, age 11: what temperature is the side of the moon which faces the sun? Does it change depending on the time of year?

Bonnie M Rutherford

I experience the same thing and would like the answer to that too.

Yuri

Even if we could build a Dyson sphere (a large structure that goes around a star to harvest the energy), how could we possibly get the energy from it back to Earth? (Yuri is pronounced like beauty without the b)

Yuri

This is a good question and I hope Alie asks it! As far as I know the only way would be if it was in a binary pair, and the other star lost some of its gas to the dying star, because the dying Star had more Mass

Bonnie M Rutherford

Can you please explain the mechanism that creates coronal mass ejections and solar flares. What happens before the occur?

Iso Partee

I’m interested in solar energy being the basis of all life (apart from the animals that live off of the gas vents on the ocean floor)—I know life on our planet wouldn’t exist without the sun, but what would happen if the sun were to stop giving us energy? (Granted our orbits don’t change)

Ken

Are there any unsolved scientific mysteries about the sun?

Iso Partee

Why does the sun appear yellow ?

Iso Partee

Name pronounced “E-so” :)

Erin Burbidge

How long do white dwarf stars live after being formed? What is it that ends their lives, if not a nova or a supernova?

Kellie McCain

How many sun gods and goddesses are there? Can you name them?

JonahK

It seems like a severe solar storm's impact on the power grid would be worse than the worst computer hack imaginable. Is there any practical way of fortifying the grid, or are we just sitting ducks?

Iso Partee

What are the connections between sunlight and happiness? I am greatly effected by the change of seasons and when the days get shorter…I feel as if my soul is replenished when the days get longer in the spring! I assume it has something to do with our natural evolution (we survive better in the warmer seasons) vitamin D???

Edward Rice

Hi Hello. What is the deal with Solar Weather? Geomagnetic Storms, Radiation Storms, Solar Wind how/why/when/where (all the kinds of questions) do they happen? How do those things help, and sometimes mess things up for, us on earth? Thank you!

Bonnie M Rutherford

Could another Carrington event really destroy civilization as we know it? If so, is anything being done to alleviate the effects of an event like that?

Iso Partee

Name pronounced “E-so” :) short for isobel!

Samantha McGarrigle

Why is it closer to the equator that the sun's rays feel less intense? I went to India for weeks, spent hours outside and didn't get a sunburn once. I spend 15 mins outside in Canada in the summer and I am a cooked lobster.

Keely Chavez

Asking for my wife Georgi who got me this subscription as a gift (best wife evah!) and is a satellite engineer: “Understanding the sun’s rotation & physics of it but what happens if it stops spinning?”

Mimz

How long til we get a cme that destroys all technology? And how accurate are predictions of the sun's lifespan given its mass and luminosity?

Amy E Kirby

If you could touch the sun and not get burned, what would it feel like? Would gravity pull you into the sun or is there enough solid mass to keep you on the surface?

Sophie

First time question asker! What would happen if you gave the sun Beano?

Annie Lefkowitz

First time question asker and Astronomy nerd- Why do stars expand as they get to the end of their life span, and not just explode? (Big stars do actually explode at the end of their life, but most stars are "small" compared to them.)

Doug Stewart

What are your favorite instances where a solar event (eclipse or flare) affected human history? Either directly or taken as an omen?

Dave Cannon

How much lead is at the center of the sun so far?

Dave Cannon

What's the smallest size a sun (star) can be.

Dave Cannon

Why do you think the sun is the size it is and what size black hole would it make?

Meg Shooter

Why is Australia's UV so high - and often high even in Winter?

Dave Cannon

Can I look at the sun if I have a really good squint game? I once saw a kid at a flea market staring at the sun with a telescope. Is that as bad as it seems? Is it brightness or radiation that burned his peepers?

Eric Larson

How can the surface of the sun be hotter than the inside?

Emily T

First time question asker - How close can a spaceship get to the sun with current technology before getting roasted?

Gemma

how do phototrophs even do that ????????? how does one harness the energy of the sun

Nat

First time question asker - What are the current mysteries about the sun that Heliologists don't understand, and how are we going to go about solving them?

Sirspence

First time question asker - how does our sun compare to other stars with orbiting planets?

Paige

first time question asker- why do I sneeze when I look at the sun?

Victoria Yargeau

Can the sun emit a solar flair that functions like an EMP? And if so are their underground bunkers that can be protected electronics from it?

Maureen Flood

How is our sun the same or different than other stars in other galaxies? How did the nuclear fusion reactions start? And from my 9 year old Henry, “how much nuclear stuff is needed to make it that hot?”

Simone Francoeur

Not related to the solar eclipse at all but has anyone ever suggested throwing trash into the sun instead of letting it pile up in landfills?

JinLikeTheDrink

What is the best myth/cultural legend/lore you’ve heard in regards to the sun?

JinLikeTheDrink

What will it feel like on earth when the sun eventually die

Lindsay Mixer

Silly question: Could the sun and moon ever get stuck in eclipse (either lunar or solar)? What would happen if they did?

Clay Mohrman

How much of an impact could solar flares have on the earth? Technology, auroras, etc.

okayest mom

question from my husband: how long until the Goldilocks Zone expands such that Earth is no longer in it, and at the point, will Mars be in the Goldilocks Zone?

Derek Peloquin

What are your feelings about a Dyson sphere being built around the Sun?

Emily Staw-fur

How close can you actually get to the sun before it becomes dangerous?

Emily Staw-fur

If the sun were to suddenly burn out, what would that look like and what would happen to Earth?

Emily Staw-fur

What would happen on earth if the sun were to disappear (assuming we could live to live to see the effects)?

Emily Staw-fur

Aside from heat, light, and photosynthesis, what other benefits do we receive from the sun?

Emily Staw-fur

Where in the Goldilocks zone does the Earth sit? Like how much closer or further away could we be from the Sun before life wasn't possible?

Aileen Lands

Are aurora borealis (or the southern equator equivalent) related to/caused by the sun? Or does the sun just have its own version? If the ones on earth are related to the sun, can we predict far in advance when aurora would be particularly strong?

Megan Kelly-Thomas

Are sunrises and sunsets on different planets in our solar system different colors than they are on earth?

Pacheecha

I have recently become informed that solar flares actually affect human health and that they have been increasing lately both in scope and regularity. Also that if they are large enough, they can knock out cellular service and electric grids. How much need for concern should we have about geomagnetic storms and is this a regular topic with scientists, because almost no one i know even talks about it!

Emily Staw-fur

What effect does climate change have on the earths relationship with the sun? Are there any other effects besides the greenhouse gasses trapping more energy and the ozone hole allowing more uv light in?

Raja

Are there flora/fauna who are at risk during eclipses (other than the relatively sudden on-set of darkness)? Raja is pronounced Raya, like papaya. 🙂

Tyra pereira

How is a solar flare measured? is there a scale for them? like the richter scale for earthquakes

Raja

What’s an easy but relatively accurate way to demo the eclipse to approximate scale? (For, say..., a grade 2 class) Basketball and marble? Basketball and pea? Basketball and grain of sand? Raja is pronounced Raya, like Papaya.

Figment

is the data in the The Might Be Giants song "Why Does the Sun Shine?" correct?

Megan Morgan

If the sun were a different size (larger or smaller), how close/ far would planets have to be to sustain life? In essence, is there correlation between size of sun and distance to sustain life? Does everyone have a photic sneeze reflex? Or are there specific things that cause it? Why do certain areas on earth have high uv levels than other areas? What are some of your favorite myths/stories/ cultural beliefs about suns and/or solar events What new questions/theories are heliologists looking into? What questions/theories have been disproved? Are there temperature variations in the sun depending on latitude or longitude? Are there “seasons” on the sun?

Raja

Hey Heliologist? What's your favourite song that incorporates the eclipse concept? Raja is pronounced Raya, like papaya.

Figment

is the sun the same temperature all the way through the different layers? how do you know the different gasses that make up our sun?

Figment

if flame needs oxygen to burn, how do suns burn in space WITHOUT OXYGEN!!!

Cassidy McKee

Can a solar storm/flare end life on earth with basically no warning a la pick your apocalypse movie?

Figment

why does the sun fade tattoos?

Figment

without our sun would earth instantly go to absolute zero? is there any way at all for anyone at all to survive it? can you prepare for absolute zero?

Yuri

What is your favorite sun fact? Mine is that it can take millions of years for a photon to go from the core of the sun to the surface, then only 8 minutes to the Earth to fall on our skin and make us happy

Figment

brilliant. i've wondered that too. there's no inertia in space, so get the trash out there and on a course for the sun. won't it get there and be consumed?

Yuri

Oh and how do they use use acoustics to "see" inside the sun? It blows my mind (Yuri - beauty without the b)

Robert Smith

Could a solar storm wreck most of the electronics on the planet?

Mark Klooster

Do we know if the sun is part of a constellation visible from another perspective in space; like if we were viewing it from Proxima Centuri would the Sun be part of a constellation?

Thomas Osterberg

How likely is it that a coronal mass ejection could hit us and knock our tech back to the Steam Age?

Sam Gilbert

How do solar flares affect the planets within our solar system?

Daniel Beck

I remember this awesome talk by stellar mortician Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz, who talked about how our atoms came from exploded stars. But what about stars that haven't yet gone supernova? How many atoms are we carrying around from our nearby sun? I realize the sun mostly emits radiation, but do any of it's atoms make it to earth? Are we carrying any recently-emmitted atoms from our sun? Thank you.

Lexi Cable

Would it be possible to launch all of the garbage on earth into the sun? Would it effect the sun?

Jonah Leahy

Are we close to being able to harness the suns power with the fusion research that’s been going on?

Lily

How has our sun evolved or changed over time? Do we know? How can we tell the history of the sun, what tools or questions can we ask and where do we look for their answers?

LightBrownPillow

FTQA here, Do we know why planets in the solar system all ended up orbiting along the same plane? Or put another way: why does the primordial dust cloud form an accretion disk instead of just a sphere?

Lily

Does the sun spin? Like what propels us around the sun?

Lynette Dávila

FTQA here on behalf of my 12 year old daughter. Has an eclipse ever lasted more than a few minutes? What is the origin behind it, why is it called the sun?

Grace Benzler

Is it true that the sun’s life cycle begins to end once it produces iron, and if so, wtf is happening there

Tom Boodry

Is it true that if the sun were to explode we wouldn’t know for 8 minutes? Would NASA bother to tell us if that happened?

Mr. Weevil

FTQA here. What’s the closest we could get to the sun without burning into a pile of human goo?

Rachel von Morrigan

When the sun and moon cross paths it’s to kiss isn’t it? I bet it is.

Daniel White

What's your favorite fact about our sun?

Love2Sail

(1) What’s the deal with Baily’s beads? Is there any connection to the “green flash” sometimes visible at sunrise or sunset? (2) Will the eclipse have an impact on the ionosphere? How quickly does the ionosphere change in response to sunlight?

Jess Donald

When in history did humans start documenting eclipses? What did they think was happening?

Kevin Riggi

What are the odds that the moon and sun just happen to be correct distance from us to appear the same size?? I mean there are no other total solar eclipses in our solar system are there?

Gene Phillips

Could our sun possible have one or more tiny black holes inside it?

Stephen Moxley

Um, apparently the sun spins?! What happens as the sun spins and how does it affect us?

Wendy Lichtig

My husband is German and always gets annoyed that the English language often has two words that sound the same yet mean different things and are spelled differently,. This led us to research SUN versus SON which then took us to Sun Wukong vs Son Goku. It turns out the latter is an anime character fashioned after the former who is otherwise known as the Monkey King. According to Wikipedia, he was borne from a stone, imprisoned under a mountain by the Buddha only to pop out (no mention as to how) 500 years later. It says “He has amazing strength and is able to support the weight of two heaven mountains on his shoulders while running "with the speed of a meteor". He is extremely fast, able to travel 108,000 li in one somersault. My question is: might he have something to do with this eclipse?

Wendy Lichtig

Seems to me there would be a lot of things in the way between here and there.

Danira Garcia Gutierrez

Growing up I was always told that eclipses (of any kind) are incredibly dangerous, especially for females/pregnant individuals. So far as to which i was told to hide under my car until the eclipse passed. Where did this come from? Is there any truth to it?

Greg Lewis

What causes the cyclical variation in the number of sunspots over about 11 years.

Alex Kim

Will the size/shape of a solar eclipse change a thousand/million/ billion years later?

Yuri

Ooooo, ask them about neutrinos! They are made in the Sun, billions of them pass through us every second, yet are so tiny they don't interact even with all the atoms in the Earth hardly ever. Can they carry a type of energy tho? Could neutrinos passing through me pick up on my energy then pass that on to another person? Since they are almost mass-less, Are they literally the lightest thing to exist?

Love2Sail

An Astronomical Unit (AU) is a unit of measure representing the mean distance between the sun and the Earth. How much variation is there in the actual distance over time? Is the variation cyclic and predictable? Does variation correlate to our seasons on earth? (Does it even matter with such a massive scale? Even if it’s off by a million miles, that’s barely more than 1% variation.)

Love2Sail

As the sun gradually loses mass (converting it to energy that lights and warm the earth), does that decrease in mass have any affect on the suns gravity? Or the gravitational pull of the sun? Could the loss of mass eventually impact the distance between the sun and the planets that orbit around it in our solar system?

Sage Agee

I’d love to know more about solar flares! How they’ve impacted the earth, how often they occur, and could they wipe out our entire power grid? Didn’t something like that happen once in the 1800s or was that a dream I had?

owl

Why do we always draw the sun smiling and wearing sunglasses? Doesn't she have any other moods/lewks?

Earl of Greymalkin

1) How much effort goes into monitoring what the sun is doing in case we need to prepare for the effects of a solar flare or whatnot? 2) Does the sun have layers or regions? Are different kinds of chemistry or nuclear reactions happening in different places? 3) If the sun were a little bit bigger or smaller, would life have still been able to form on Earth? 4) Does the sun spin? 5) How does our sun compare to all the other stars we know about? 6) How fast can you go when solar sailing? What if you get further away from the sun? 7) Is anyone thinking of 'mining' material that gets thrown out by the sun? 8) Can solar power solve all our problems? 9) What is the Parker Solar Probe looking at (and how) and what are the questions it is trying to help us solve? (And who is Parker?)

Sophia A

Is there something unique or special about our sun as a star that helps make the conditions on earth perfect for life? If so, what it is it? Do we look for that when we’re looking for aliens?

Michelle Parkin-Kelly

Does the temperature as you approach the sun increase in a linear way? Aside from solar flares etc. I think what I'm really asking is whether or not a 'sweet spot' theoretically exists where you could satisfactorily toast a marshmallow without being burnt to a radioactive crisp. If the answer is no then I'm happy for this question to be omitted. We don't need more bad news.

Andy

Will we have another white solar flaire. And can they destroy all technology on earth?

Gemma

how do we know that the sun will eventually explode

Gemma

how important is the sun in extrapolating knowledge about all stars? like is it a good model specimen per say?

Saira (‘Sarah’) Manns

If a sun had a son, what would it be called? Sun Jr? Tangentially, do suns ever have daughters?

Lady_Marzipan

FTQA: What colour is the sun / what colour of light does the sun emit? Do different suns/stars emit different coloured light, or is it lifecycle dependent? (In what way would the Earth's atmosphere need to change to make the sun appear, say, green? ...how would that effect life as we know it?? I realise I am going too far down a rabbit hole here...)

Marianne Thomas

Why couldn't They Might Be Giants make the 2nd song as catchy as the original? And do they need to make any additional revisions, or does "The Sun Is A Plasma" remain broadly in keeping with our current understanding?

sigpig

when we visualize the solar system, the north poles of everything are "on top", the planets turn counterclockwise about their axes, and orbit the sun in a counterclockwise direction. who decided this?! can't we have it the other way around for a change? so that all the south poles are "on top", all the planets rotate clockwise and orbit the sun clockwise...

Lisa N

Hoe can the sun (and any star) burn and keep burning if there is no oxygen in space?¿?

Marie Kluge

How do we know what the sun is made of and how old it is?

Lisa N

Why does the sun mostly contain hydrogen?

Lisa N

How does fusion in the sun work? And what is the effect of it?

Lisa N

What role does the sun play in culture and folklore?

Olga Kolesnikova

When the sun explodes in the distant future, could life still exist in the solar system?

Lisa N

How does the heat of the sun travel through the vacuum of space?

David Ruscalleda Gómez

You know what. I've never understood why you can't look at the sun directly but you actually can have the sun in the peripheral vision as much as you'd like. It felt to me like the difference between those two things was merely eye resolution or something, but I guess it must have something to do with focus too? Maybe it's a question for eye-ologists though.

Claire Nurc

What is the likelihood of a solar flare that will knock out all technology on earth? And what are governments doing to prepare? Is keeping my backup hard drive in a tin in the garage like my Dad used to do enough to protect my children's baby photos?

Gigil_Peach

How is the sun creating light/light rays and where are they coming from? Speaking as a ginger with a vendetta.

Dillon S.

First time question asker! Would also love to know about solar flares and why they affect us so much, or is it all a conspiracy??? Need to know

Whitney Parson

First time question asker! Is the mass of the sun changing? How quickly? Does that affect how long a year is for earth?

Talia Dunyak

if a planet has two suns, can they eclipse each other?

James Nance

What is your favorite fact about the sun that you wish other people knew?

Disco Ru

NASA's Parker Probe has only flown through the suns atmosphere. Do you think we will ever have a probe that can penetrate the suns surface? And what could it help us understand?

Andy McAdams

While most belief systems through history had gods attributed to the sun, where there any that solely worshipped the sun?

Euan Munro

How much bigger would the sun need to be to go supernova? (N.B. Its pronounced like Ewan Monroe 😊)

Natalie Rousseau

Can we create an accepted metric for whether or not someone deserves to be thrown into the sun? Like exes yes, bad drivers no. Or vice versa.

Natalie Rousseau

One of my favorite quotes from my son when he was younger was him telling the sun, “Go away sun! Put it in the trash can!” So my question is two fold: one, whhhyyy do we need the sun so much but simultaneously hate how bright and annoying it is, and two, why does it seem so much brighter at lower points in the sky (like morning when you’re driving a cranky toddler to preschool)?

Dawnaechello

First time question asker. If a person were to be thrown into the sun, how close would they get? What would happen to their body and how quickly? Spontaneous combustion? Melting? Desiccation? Would their atoms become part of the sun's nuclear fusion reaction, thereby contributing to the light which feeds our planet?

Maria Whamond

FTQA- if you could rename the sun, what name would you give it?

Guido

Will the average number and size of sunspots change with time as the sun progresses in its "lifespan"?

Sarah O'Malley

Getting fried by solar flares--fact or fiction? Is it really just a matter of time for us here on Earth or is that only something you have to worry about in the space station?

Athena Lord-Naswell

First time question asker but I’ve been listening since 2018, I love you. Why have we not evolved to stop getting sun burns?? Do other species get sun burns or is it just us??

joesyourmom

Why do I sneeze when I look at the sun?

Alyssa Ranker

What color is the sun truly? Does it even have a color?

Alyssa Ranker

What is the anatomy of our sun or a star in general? Does it depend on the type of star? Do they have distinguished layers similar to a planet?

GGknows

In relation to other stars, how small is our sun? What is the smallest sun? Is there a relation between size and the number of surrounding planets that a star can “support”?

Figment

Where does the vitamin D come from that the sun radiates into us? Can it go through clothes, or do we get the D only through direct sunlight to skin contact?

Pascal Perron

The moon's gravitational pull controls the tides, I get that. But although the sun is much further away, it's still massive. Does it not also control the tides or some other thing?

GGknows

also, are there any consistencies between our sun and other stars that have similar “Goldilocks” planets?

Staci Pinkowitz

not a question but my friends and i all agree that to be deemed "a real man" one must stare at the sun unblinking for 45 seconds. it's the manliest thing you could do

Jeanette-o-saur

I'm curious how much of our irritation with the sun is because we invented things like work days and cars 😄 How do we acquire historic data on pre-car sun angst? That's the real question

Maddie Meehan

How does the sun stay suspended in space? Why does it not fall into whatever abyss is out there? How does the sun stay on fire -- is there oxygen in space?

Amanda

Seasonally depressed pale ginger and first time question asker here: the sun burns my skin if I’m out soaking it up for too long or makes me hate myself if I don’t get get that vitamin D….whats a girl to do? Why is the Sun so cruel to pale folks? Sunscreen recommendations? What’s the best time (of day or year) to play outside and mitigate negative skin exposure and get those vitamins?

Dave Langlinais

Two part question: 1.) What is the current chemical composition of the sun (other than hydrogen and helium)? The reason I ask is because during the initial formation of our star system, we know there were already heavier elements present, as evidenced by the composition of our rocky planets and asteroids - it stands to reason that at least *some* of those heavier elements were captured by the sun, and then sank into the sun's core because of their higher density - is that actually the case? (would spectroscopy even tell us what's in the interior?) And if so, what elements are present, and in what amounts? 2.) If there IS heavier elements in the core of the sun, do they have any effect on the main-sequence fusion process of converting hydrogen into helium?

Charlie MacKenzie

1) what affects the colors of sunsets?? also is the green flash a real thing and if so does it have to be over water? 2) how close could we get to the sun without dying? A) if we were in a space ship and B) if we were naked swimming toward it in space but somehow we were immune to all other parts of space that could kill us except the sun

GGknows

I second the questions in #1

Nick worth

How do solar sails work? Assuming they do work and are not just a sci-fi trope, do spacecraft have to account for the Sun’s effect on their plotted trajectory?

Catherine BH

What is the green flash? I only recently learned about this. Where can I go to see it? When does it happen? Why does it happen? If I live on the east coast, do I need to travel elsewhere to be able to see it? (maybe is this why I've only just heard about it recently?)

Thedorknextdoor

Two questions here! 1) Why do some people sneeze when they look at the sun? 2) Can you explain why solar flares can have an effect on power grids, satellites, radio, GPS, etc? Thank you! ☺️

Nick worth

Another seasonally depressed ginger wants to know… also, could a drug / food supplement make us less prone to burning to a crisp?

Matthew Walcher

Is it just me or is the sun getting stronger? When I was younger I didn't burn as easily, now it feels like I need to be a lot more vigilant with SPF. Am I imagining this?

Matthew Walcher

Is there only 1 sun or are all stars like the sun, it's just the closest star to us?

Meghan Matthews-Adair

A question from my 10 year old (who would like to be known as Levi The Great 😂): “For real life, how many years will it take for the sun to implode? Do you think humans will still be here on Earth when it happens?”

Dave Langlinais

Actually I know the answer to first part of that first question - the color(s) of sunsets is due to the red-shifting of light from passing through FAR more atmosphere, since the rays are hitting the Earth at such a steeply obtuse angle at the day/night terminator line (as opposed to hitting the Earth at a 90* angle during noon, and therefore passing through relatively little atmosphere). Just air alone will cause the effect, but the presence of water vapor (clouds) will sometimes magnify it even further.

Dave Langlinais

Oh they do work. Proof of concept has already been done. While photons do not have mass, they DO have energy and momentum, and that energy and momentum is what's imparted to the solar sail when a photon hits it, thus driving the sail forward in the same direction the photon was going.

Zoe Litton

What is your favorite song about the Sun?

GhoulNextDoor

What is the process that causes sun spots to occur? And is the frequency indicative of the health of the sun?

GhoulNextDoor

Are the northern lights caused by solar flares? If so why and how? I think it’s something to do with particles but what are the particles made of and how’d they get there and why do they make pretty colors?

Dawnaechello

Does the sun move? Also, does it spin? Do we always face the same part of the sun?

Dawnaechello

What is the life expectancy of the sun?

Ikrah Pradhan

My Pakistani mother in law told me that standing outside when there’s an eclipse negatively effects fertility. Any idea what’s behind this tale?

Felix

how much energy could we get from solar power? and what portion of the sun's total energy output would that actually be?

glittertornado

How did the sun come to be? Was it here before the earth?

Nick worth

Does this affect the balance of orbits? If you blocked the light from the sun from hitting earth, would it start getting closer to the sun because it’s not being pushed by photons? Or is the effect too small?

Lyette LeBlanc

First time question asker! The sun is essential for life on Earth and the suns rays/light/heat acts a certain way because of our atmosphere. How does the sun affect the moon? Can you feel the heat from the sun there? What about on other planets? Basically what can you tell me about the sun reaching other planets!? (Including Pluto 🙄) Thanks!

Jackie G

what is the difference between solar wind and sunlight?

Claire Burditt

First time question asker! And is it “Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)“ by They Might Be Giants

Colleen Chick

FTQA! Earth is in the Goldilocks zone. Is our star in some sort of Goldilocks zone in the Milky Way? Is there anything else special about our planet-star-galaxy relationship that would support the claim that we’re “alone”? 👽 🌍 🌞

Faith Novella

How long do we have until this thing runs out of juice? How certain are we about those estimates?

Michelle Fox

First time question asker! Please talk about helioseismology because the idea of a sunquake is fascinating to me.

Olivia Lester

SeConD time question asker! I have a million q's but I'll start here and hopefully it's not too much. Could something comparable to an ice cube be thrown at the Sun and extinguish it? What would that look like (mass, temp, material, etc.)? What would happen if stars touched each other (boop a fellow hot bro)? Would it be a star boss battle or a (not so) chill hang? Is our Sun a baby compared to other stars? Do all stars emit the same rays? What happens during a solar flare? Is a supernova slow or fast? What about a “super”-death? What does each look like? Where does the O2 come from to incite and maintain the combustion? Is it the same chemical combustion present on Earth? Or are different reactions and gases taking place? Does the Sun emit CO2? Could you really go blind from staring into the Sun? If so, how long would it take? Has anyone tested the waters or how do we know? What causes eyes to get cloudy? Do I even know what the Sun or a star is anymore?? Allie, the recent BLACK HOLES episodes have my brain paralyzed in that meme of a woman befuddled at a bunch of formulas or the other of a woman bent over squinting into an abyss—my brain is exploding.

Katie Munoz

First time question asker: Why does our sun emit a full spectrum of colors? Why are there no blank spots in the rainbow?

Daniel Beck

Sorry, forgot to mention above that I'm a first time question asker (on Ologies at least, anyway :)) Thanks!

Neen

why do so many religions worship the sun? (and what percentage of your gallery storage is just photos of sunsets?)

Neen

why can't we reproduce the vitamin d producing parts of uv light?

Aurora Cullen

from my dad: would a coronal mass ejection end civilization and is there anything we could do about it?

Jessica Rudd

Oh heck yes!!! I am SO BEYOND EXCITED for April 8th!! I’ve got a few questions, so let’s start with this one: Let’s hear about sunspots!! I LOVE observing sunspots with my Celestron solar safe binoculars, and really want to learn more about how they form, as well as the different magnetic and size classes. Can we get a rundown on these please?

Jessica Rudd

I’ve heard that some solar eclipses can be seen as an annular eclipse or a total eclipse depending on where you are along the path. So cool! How common is this and how does this happen from a space geometry perspective??

Jessica Rudd

How many total, partial, and annular solar eclipses have you seen? Which one was your favourite, and why?

Jessica Rudd

Do you have any tips for people who are hosting an eclipse-themed weekend party for a group of friends? I am planning activities leading up to the big event on Monday and am wondering if you have any suggestions!

Jessica Rudd

What are your favourite experiments that have been done (or will be done) during an eclipse? I saw NASA has an awesome list of experiments for April 8th and am wondering if there have been any other great ones in the past! I think favourite will always be when they used the May 1919 eclipse to prove general relativity!!

Betsy B

I heard on another podcast that the sun's energy kind of waxes and wanes and that we are currently in a waning state. How will movement to a waxing state impact climate change and what we need to do to avoid catastrophic impacts of it?

Dane Camacho

What’s the deal with the sun’s magnetic field flipping every 11 years? Why does it do that and what does that change for us?

Dane Camacho

Why are eclipses so rare? i feel like they should be more common than they are

Rachel Yukimura

Are there effects from solar flares that we can sense? Why are there more solar flares during a certain time than others? What actually is a solar flare?

Rick T

Why is it still so hard to know the exact chemical identity of the sun?

Chelsea Wilck

why is the sun the thing that gives us the most happiness and a will to live? also on that note, how does vitamin d emit from the sun thus giving me a will to live? is it like created within the sun or somehow in its rays? idk we love the sun for her happiness energy

Chelsea Wilck

I know this is billions of years down the line but what exactly do we know about the sun "dying"? Will it just...fade away like a lightbulb dying? also how do we KNOW it will die?

Michelle Cabrera

First time questioner! A few years back, my husband and I drove to the northern-ass end of Finland (Ismo reference) to see the Aurora for my birthday. Only, just as we were getting packed and ready to go, hubby happened to check solar activity for that year and month and found out that we were at the bottom (ass) end of the 11-year cycle of solar activity. Boo! We did manage to see some Northern Lights, and we thought they were amazing, but were still a little bummed at the idea that we were seeing minimal Northern Lights. So what determines the length of a star's cycle of activity? And can or does it change over time? Also, hubby and I watched the 2017 total solar eclipse at an Oregon Star Party -- our first total eclipse, and it was HOOOOLY SHIIIT!!! This year, he is off to see the eclipse in Texas without me. I'm stuck on the other side of the Atlantic. Jealous!...

Chelsea Wilck

There are far too many good songs about the sun so what are some faves? (bonus points if its soak up the sun by sheryl crow, solar power by lorde, the melting of the sun by st. vincent, sunblind by fleet foxes, or any of the like 4 different beatles songs about the sun)

LittleC PsyD

First time question asker- if there were still life on Earth similar to how it is now when the sun begins to die, how would life on Earth start to change with the fading sun?

Michelle Cabrera

...And how does the Ologist spend their total solar eclipses?

Nick worth

If anyone is interested, the effect of eliminating the effect of solar wind on the earth would result in a 30 millisecond increase in Earths orbital period….or so I’m told….

Sweet Chili

First time asker/long time listener- Ok, what if we built an enormous catapult on earth, and took all our garbage and launched it into the Sun once a month. Could this save us from ourselves? Thanks for everything you do Ali! 🥰

Scarlet P

How much does the sun weigh? And what is its density? Is there any material on earth that could hold up to the heat inside the sun without evaporating?

Kathleen Sachs

Truth or Flimflam? Can a well-timed and well-aimed solar flare take out our satellites and communications on Earth?

Kathleen Sachs

What is the Ologist’s favorite movie that involves the sun?

Kathleen Sachs

If someone were to look directly at the total eclipse without protection, how long would it take for retinal damage to become apparent? Immediately? A day? Several weeks? Also, are Donald Trump’s retinas totally cooked and we don’t know it yet?

mariia k

how hot is the sun?

Michelle Cabrera

I am its density!... (sorry, couldn't help myself!)

TropicalFish

What are some of the coolest myths/legends/stories about the sun? Eclipses in particular? Why does the sun make us so happy? (the sun is the best and seasonal depression can kick rocks)

EmmaB

Can you explain what plasma is? I know the sun is made of it but 🤷‍♀️

Kitshea

First time question asker- Is there a way we could recreate what is happening on the sun, but on a much…much smaller scale, to use for energy, heat, or light? It’s all good if this is too difficult to answer.

Trisha-Lee HARRISSON

Hi Alie, comment newbie here from Australia- don’t think we get the eclipse here this weekend I but I do remember one when all the chooks on my family’s farm got really confused by the total eclipse and rushed home to roost thinking it was night time then emerged quite confused afterwards!😁

Bredlab

Question, could you theoretically get Jupiter to become a star?

Cameron

First time question asker: what is the rarest type of eclipse and is it the most interesting to see with the naked eye?

Apollonia Piña

Second time question asker: How do you think life on Earth would be different if the sun were a different color?

TobiasG

First time question asker - I actually have two questions, feel free to have your pick. Or answer both, I'm not your dad. First question: I know stars produce heavier and heavier elements through successive fusion processes. But why do these processes stop at iron, and where do the other elements come from? Second question: What happens to stars at the end of their lives? Why do some of them turn into supernovae and some just fizzle? And what will happen to our sun, specifically?

Matt Hirschl

COLOR OF THE SUN: We know it’s not actually yellow and rather white from past episodes. Are other stars in other solar systems white, too?

Jessica Rudd

Oh I’ve got one more question! What are coronal holes, and how do they form?

EmmaB

I know the sun will eventually expand- can you explain how stars expand? Is it because of more material being made in the core? How does it just get bigger?!

Sarah

Going way back to the beginning - how was the sun created? How much longer will our sun be the sun as we know it? When will it enter the next phase in its “life”?

Cassidy Weber

Why does solar maximum happen every 11 years? And are we due for another Carrington event?

Jackie G

Is there such a thing as the surface of the sun? How does something made of gas and plasma have a defined surface?

Amanda Lask

What kind of properties does our sun have that allowed for life to develop on earth? Do we see any other stars with similar characteristics that might suggest life on other planets??

Amanda Lask

I know solar flares happen, but what exactly is it made out of??

Carrie Lincourt

First time question from 10 year old Maeve Linton Lincourt: What color is the sun? Some people say it’s yellow and some people say orange.

Britt Carp

Is wind really a product of sun farts?????

Britt Carp

I’m one minute late but this is very important.

Daniel Beck

Does a solar eclipses occur ONLY when there is a new moon?

Shannon O'Grady

What would life be like without the sun?

Shannon O'Grady

How can they predict the exact path of the eclipse?

Shannon O'Grady

is it true that the northern lights products of the sun?

RobinR

Why do solar flares happen and how do they influence the earth? Are they ever dangerous?

Minh

Can there be life on the sun? Naturally, not life as we know it, but a life form that likes that high temperature.

Jaedin Guldenstern

What are all the different types of eclipses? I get confused about all the different kinds and look it up everytime!

Carl Ellis

Why does the lack of sun affect your mood in such a dramatic way?

hildabeast

If we were to suddenly have no sunlight forever, how long do you think humans would survive? Which life form would survive the longest?

hildabeast

First time question asker: What is the most compelling cultural interpretation of an eclipse that you've heard of?