A Journey to the Centre of the Sun - with Lucie Green

Lucie Green takes us on a journey from the centre of the sun to planet earth in a run-down of the latest solar physics research.

110 times wider than Earth; 15 million degrees at its core; an atmosphere so huge that Earth is actually within it: come and meet the star of our solar system.

Light takes eight minutes to reach Earth from the surface of the Sun. But its journey within the Sun takes hundreds of thousands of years. What is going on in there? What are light and heat? How does the Sun produce them and how on earth did scientists discover this? Since the Royal Institution was founded in 1799 our knowledge of the Sun has changed dramatically and much of the work was carried out at the Ri.

Join Lucie Green for an enlightening talk, taking you from inside the Sun to its surface and to Earth, to discover how the Sun works, how a solar storm can threaten the modern technology that society relies on and more of the latest research in solar physics.

Lucie Green is a Professor of Physics based at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, UCL’s Department of Space and Climate Physics. She studies activity in the atmosphere of our nearest star, the Sun. In particular, she looks at immense magnetic fields in the Sun’s atmosphere which sporadically erupt into the Solar System.

Lucie is very active in public engagement with science, regularly giving public talks and appearing on TV shows like Sky at Night.

Product links on this page may be affiliate links which means it won't cost you any extra but we may earn a small commission if you decide to purchase through the link.

[jondunmore]

I got through half this video before I just had to order her book "15 Million Degrees" - and it's GREAT!

[anthonyireland]

Absolutely amazing lecture, thank you Lucie, I will be buying you're book, for sure

[chemist]

The Royal institution channel is very informative and i like it so much and i like the topics they discuss and share with the world . Thank You for the efforts !

[Declan-pgcg]

I've got Lucy's book "10 million degrees" a couple of years now, and I have to admit it was an excellent read. The section dealing with magnetic reconnection really grabbed my fascination.

[Spinpolarized]

That was a great talk! Thank you, Lucie! I study physics, and learned so much about our sun.

[goldendogwoodworks]

i wish this much longer, talk like this is far better than watching any tv show or movie.

[lastmanstanding]

She really really loves her job...
I hope one day I find a job I have so much enthusiasm for...

[CreativeContention]

Thank you. Knowledge available for all. Brilliant communicator.

[victorb]

How I wish I could know, understand and recall everything that desk has heard. I'd be so unbelievably smart maybe even wise.

[cneuhauser]

I understand about 1% of all of this, but find it fascinating, and enjoy watching all of these lectures.

[Fart_sniffer]

I read this book last month, its one of my favorites, thanks Lucie for being an amazing scientist

[adricortesia]

I saw this video scrolling through my subscriptions "it's Dr. Lucie! I have to watch it!"

[ericsbuds]

I love how the SDO data is open and free to the public. I have an app on my phone that gives me the most recent set of SDO pictures. Really cool. You can go back and view the Sun on your birthday, too, or whatever date you want (within SDO records, of course)

[HotPinkst]

My favorite mystery of the Sun is how the photosphere can be so much cooler than the layers above and below it. My idea to explain this is that the combination of high gravity and especially high magnetic field density constrains the motion of atoms with more force than the temperature driven kinetic energy of the atoms. The amount of electrons falling back towards a ground state is likely higher in this region as well, creating something analogous to evaporative cooling right at the top of the convective cycle where energy escapes at the speed of light and material at the speed of the solar wind. Magnetically constrained motion would electromagnetically overpower the motion phenomenon we observe as temperature and the most energetic elements are rapidly leaving the photosphere is a tidy hypothesis. How can we test this now with current equipment?

[cache]

You could safely say her work revolves around the Sun ;)

[jimwolfgang]

So who are the people who give thumbs down to such wonderfully presented information. Thank you, this was truly amazing, inspiring.

[jaapongeveer]

Absolutely fascinating! Very well prepared speech.

[rkb]

You are,
SOOOO MUCH EASIER...
To listen too.
Than some of your
OTHER Colleges !

[robert]

Excellent current information and lecture...

[calvinsylveste]

My first encounter with the term 'coronal mass ejection' was years ago in star trek next gen, their shields held.