Destination Sun: Does Knowledge Really Hold the Power to Save Us?

92.96 million miles away from Earth sits a 5 billion year old ball of hydrogen and helium. A mass so large that by comparison to our tiny Earth is 2,715,000 miles round. What exactly am I speaking of? Well, the all powerful sun, of course.

NASA launched a Solar Maximum Mission on February 14, 1980 where this spacecraft was to observe gamma rays, x-rays, and UV radiation. 240,000 images were taken and sent back to Earth before the demise of the spacecraft. This mission was one of many that were to be done for us to learn more about our bright star.

The Spacecraft Ulysses began to explore the northern region of the Sun in 2000. Northern and Southern exploration of the Sun has never been done by a spacecraft before. The spacecraft spent 110 days gathering data on the Northern forces of the Sun. The quest served to be very educational as we learned about the global differences of the sun, solar winds, cosmic radiation, plasma waves, and so on and so forth.

Ulysses may have been the first of its kind to explore the gassy giant, but yet again we needed to learn even more about this large star. So on August 8, 2001 NASA launched Genesis to make the first effort to collect a sample of solar wind, meaning that they are planning on collecting a stream of plasma being expelled from the higher atmosphere of the sun.

But after a flaw in the design of Genesis cause a crash landing on September 8, 2004, into the desert floor in Utah, many of the collection samples were contaminated. There were some samples that were able to be recovered, and those are said to possess that data that will assist in revealing the composition of the sun, as well as help us to discover how the planet was formed from clouds of astrophysical dust.

As we continue on our journey for knowledge of the unknown, an international spacecraft called Hinode was launched on September 23, 2006, equip with a Solar Optical Telescope, an X-ray Telescope and an Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer. These three primary tools were to be used to study the sun's magnetic field and discover how the sun's volatile energy propagates thorough the diverse layers of the solar atmosphere.

Hinode is a success and since has been transferring images back to Earth regarding the solar atmosphere from the observable face of the sun, as well as the outer atmosphere of the sun that extends outward into the solar system.

We keep getting closer and closer to this magnetically active star and learning just was we do about any other star or planet, everything that we possibly can.

Many think that this enormous star was formed by shockwaves that were emitted from one or more supernovas nearby. A supernova creates an extremely luminous object from a stellar explosion and if this is the case, how long before this powerful ball of plasma, looses its luster?

Humans depend on the Sun's energy as a form of power to generate heat and electricity. The plants need the sunlight to grow and convert the sunlight to oxygen and also reduce carbon compounds. The sun is about 5 billion years old, which means it is actually halfway through its life cycle. Around 5 billion years from now, we can expect this great ball of gas to run out of steam and grow about a hundred times bigger than what it is right now and cool down to become the size of our Earth.

When the sun cools down, we got problems. So many problems, we can't even imagine the repercussions that will happen. The transition of cooling will boil away all of the Earth's water, without the sun, temperatures would drop significantly to a point where the only place humans could possibly survive would be deep underground where we would be able to take advantage of the Earth's internal heat. Even then, survival would be slim...do we have enough room for everyone underground?

The sun is part of our survival; however, it is also going to be part of our death. If mankind survives 5 billion more years, those of our ancestors will be able to hopefully accommodate themselves for the drastic change that will be happening, once we loose our sun. However, global warming is taking over the Earth fairly quickly and can be the death of us. This death is going to be caused by the sun because we are encouraging the depletion of the atmosphere by our industrialization, deforestation, and pollution. The releases of the pollutants emitted from us are assisting to trap the heat near the Earth's surface. Mankind has been dishing out more carbon dioxide than the poor plants and oceans can absorb it.

Many scientists state not to blame the sun for the global warming, but if you look around, the sun doesn't only emit light, it also emits heat. The heat from the sun comes from its core, which is heated by energy that is transferred outward from the core. In my opinion once that heat enters our atmosphere, we assist in trapping it there by our pollution, therefore causing the effects of global warming and effecting are climate to reach dangerous levels. If you are one that is not convinced by this scenario, think about this small fact; the coolest layer of the sun is 6740.33 degrees Fahrenheit. The coolest layer!

The sun is a destination that we will never reach; we can only observe and try to learn a small percentage of what everything means, and how to assist us in the long run of things. The sun isn't going to be around forever and at the rate we are going, neither are we. The Sun may be the largest object in the solar system; however we have to remember that it is a star. An ordinary star that we need for survival, something that we take advantage of and for granted everyday of our lives.

In reality, the Sun is a mass of nuclear reactions with temperatures rising above 27,000,000 degrees Fahrenheit; an object of which we have no control over... it has control over us. I believe this information gives us all something to think about.