Phil takes us for a closer (eye safe!) look at the two-octillion ton star that rules our solar system. We look at the sun's core, plasma, magnetic fields, sunspots, solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and what all of that means for our planet.

This episode is sponsored by Squarespace: www.squarespace.com/crashcourse

--

The Sun is a Star 1:28
Plasma's Magnetic Fields 6:11
Sunspots, Solar Flares, and Coronal Mass Ejections 7:09
How the Earth Reacts 9:18

--

PBS Digital Studios: youtube.com/pbsdigitalstudios

Follow Phil on Twitter: twitter.com/badastronomer

Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet?
Facebook - www.facebook.com/YouTubeCrashCourse
Twitter - www.twitter.com/TheCrashCourse
Tumblr - thecrashcourse.tumblr.com
Support CrashCourse on Patreon: www.patreon.com/crashcourse

--

PHOTO/VIDEO CREDITS
Hubble extrasolar planet search field in Sagittarius: www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic0612d/ [credit: NASA, ESA, K. Sahu (STScI) and the SWEEPS science team]
The Sun: www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/images/499558main_hmi4096.jpg [credit: SDO/HMI]
The Sun: d1jqu7g1y74ds1.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/SDO_4096_0171.jpg [credit: NASA/SDO/AIA]
Earth: www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/earth-from-space-15-amazing-things-in-15-years/#.VMvNXmTF_Z0 [credit: NASA's Earth Observatory]
Fusion in the Sun: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FusionintheSun.svg [credit: Borb]
Empire State Building: de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_State_Building#mediaviewer/File:Empire_State_Building_from_the_Top_of_the_Rock.jpg
Sun Structure: www.flickr.com/photos/11304375@N07/2819311727/
Photospheric granulation: solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/images/granules.jpg
Corona: philhart.smugmug.com/Sun/Queensland-Solar-Eclipse/i-qjqMzzK [credit: Phil Hart]
"Magnet0873" by Newton Henry Black - Newton Henry Black, Harvey N. Davis (1913) Practical Physics, The MacMillan Co., USA, p. 242, fig. 200. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Magnet0873.png#mediaviewer/File:Magnet0873.png
Strange Days On The Sun: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/details.cgi?aid=11682 [credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Images courtesy of NASA/SDO]
Under the Sunspots: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/details.cgi?aid=20070 [credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab]
Raining Loops: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011100/a011168/Raining_Loops_Still_2.jpg [credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/SDO]
Coronal Mass Ejection: www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_xYcMQe5KA [credit: NASA]
Aurora: www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-BicSV9RAw
Soloar Close-ups: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/details.cgi?aid=4061 [credit: NASA]

1. Introduction to Astronomy
2. Naked Eye Observations
3. Cycles in the Sky
4. Moon Phases
5. Eclipses
6. Telescopes
7. The Gravity of the Situation
8. Tides
9. Introduction to the Solar System
10. The Sun
11. The Earth
12. The Moon
13. Mercury
14. Venus
15. Mars
16. Jupiter
17. Jupiter's Moons
18. Saturn
19. Uranus & Neptune
20. Asteroids
21. Comets
22. The Oort Cloud
23. Meteors
24. Light
25. Distances
26. Stars
27. Exoplanets
28. Brown Dwarfs
29. Low Mass Stars
30. White Dwarfs & Planetary Nebulae
31. High Mass Stars
32. Neutron Stars
33. Black Holes
34. Binary and Multiple Stars
35. Star Clusters
36. Nebulae
37. The Milky Way
38. Galaxies, part 1
39. Galaxies, part 2
40. Gamma-Ray Bursts
41. Dark Matter
42. The Big Bang, Cosmology part 1
43. Dark Energy, Cosmology part 2
44. A Brief History of the Universe
45. Deep Time
46. Everything, The Universe...And Life
47. Explore The Solar System:

In this Crash Course series, marvel at the wonders of astronomy with your host for this intergalactic adventure, the Bad Astronomer himself -- Phil Plait. In just 40 short lessons, you will learn the basics of the oldest science known to humanity.

Be sure to check out links to relevant Photos in the description for each video.