The Harsh Light of Day Trivia Quiz

Answer: Nitrogen

Almost three quarters of the Sun (73.46%) is made up of Hydrogen. Of the roughly 25 percent left, most is helium (24.85%) while the last small bit left over consists of oxygen (0.77%), carbon (0.29%), iron (0.16%), sulphur (0.12%), neon (0.12%), nitrogen (0.09%), silicon (0.07%) and magnesium (0.05%), with small traces of other elements making up the last 0.02%.

According to Wikipedia, the Sun's mass is about 99.86% of that of our entire Solar System. Roughly 109 Earths could fit into the same space occupied by the Sun.

Answer: White

The Earth's atmosphere scatters the light which is why we see the Sun as yellow.
Of the several sources I could find on the net, nearly all of them state that the Sun appears white when viewed from space, with one source saying that the Sun is a 'peach pinkish' colour (relative to the D65 white point). According to this source, most people see D65 as having a hint of blue so concedes that the Sun may actually be white.

Just to make things more confusing, our Sun is classed as a yellow dwarf.

Answer: Milky Way

The Sun is orbiting the Milky Way approximately 24,000-26,000 light years (Wikipedia) from the galactic centre. When 'standing' at the galactic north pole, the Sun orbits clockwise, taking 225-250 million years to do so. The sun is currently within the inner rim of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way. The Orion Arm is also referred to as the 'Local Arm', 'Local Spur' or the 'Orion Spur'.

Answer: Differential rotation

Even though the actual rotation of the Sun occurs every 25.6 days (at the equator) and 33.5 days (at the poles), for us here on Earth it appears to rotate every 28 days. The difference in equatorial rotation and polar rotation is known as 'differential rotation' and is caused by the massive difference in temperature of the Sun from the core to the outer.

Answer: Sunlight

The nine main listed 'parts' of the structure of the Sun (from inner to outer) are:
-Core
-Radiative zone
-Convective zone
-Photosphere
-Chromosphere
-Corona
-Sunspot
-Granules
-Prominence
There is also a transition layer between the radiative and convection zones called the tachocline, and several other transition layers between layers of the Sun.

Answer: Solar atmosphere

Solar atmosphere is also known as the Corona or Coronal Loop. This part of the Sun can be seen with the naked eye during a solar eclipse and can also be seen with certain types of telescopes at any other time (as long as the telescope has a 'view' of the Sun).
During a solar eclipse, the solar atmosphere is the 'white fuzzy bit' seen around the edge of the moon.

Answer: The Sun's magnetic field

Solar activity includes several phenomena such as solar flares, sun spots and variations in solar wind. The magnetic field of the Sun reverses direction roughly every eleven years. This change of magnetic field is what is thought to lead to 'solar activity'.

Solar activity changes the structure of the outer atmosphere of the Earth causing disruption of electric power and radio communications, and aurora.
The reversal of the magnetic field of the Sun is a direct result of the differential rotation of the Sun.

Answer: Sunspots are cooler in temperature than other areas of the Sun

Due to the intense magnetic activity of areas known as sunspots, heat transfer is inhibited thereby creating an area of cooler temperature. Sunspots appear and disappear depending on where the Sun is in its eleven-year solar cycle. At the minimum, sunspots generally only appear near the poles but at a maximum, they start to appear near the equator.

They also generally appear as pairs with each sunspot having opposite magnetic polarity.

Answer: Observing the Sun using a filtered telescope

UV light from the Sun causes damage to the retina similar to sunburn. Depending on the severity of the burn, the damage can be either temporary or more permanent. Younger eyes and those with relative new lens implants are also more likely to damage the eyes when looking at the Sun as they 'let in' more UV light than older, or more previously 'damaged' eyes. The heat caused by sunburn on the retina kills cells almost immediately as the eye cannot get rid of the heat quickly enough.

Looking at the Sun in during a partial or full solar eclipse can also be damaging to the eyes as some of the photosphere region of the Sun is still visible and can cause permanent blind spots for viewers.

Answer: To tan the body

Tanning is actually a sign that the skin is damaged due to exposure to UV light. Aesthetically, a tan may look nice, but this damage to the skin cannot be repaired. Possible consequences of tanning in the sun are skin cancer, sun spots and dry skin. None of these are aesthetically pleasing as the body get older and after years of sun damage.

UV light kills some bacteria and can help control the quality of water, it is even used in some public pools as a safe way to clean the water (resulting in a reduction of the use of chlorine and other, more dangerous chemicals).

UV light creates vitamin D which is good for the body and can help in reducing the occurrence of diseases such as Rickets.

Many medical treatments are becoming more reliant on phototherapy for skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. Phototherapy is used both with and without other topical treatments to treat many different conditions.