The Sun’s mass declines by more than 4 million tons of mass each second. What happens to this mass?

Question

for astronomy hmwk. Can't find it in the book. Help please!

Answer 1

The sun converts that mass into energy (the amount of energy that mass equals is in Einstein's e=mc^2 equation).
That energy is detected as heat and radiation (across most of the electromagnetic spectrum, including visible light).
So it isn't so much losing mass as converting mass into energy.

But some mass is ejected into space in the solar wind - charged particles from the upper atmosphere of the sun.
That is an actual loss of mass. Those particles leave the sun and eventually become part of the interstellar medium (space).

Answer 2

It's converted into high energy photons called gamma rays, through Einstein's equation E=mc2. When that small amount of mass is converted into energy, a large amount of energy is released. It's this conversion of 4 million tons each second into energy that supports the Sun against it's own gravity and keeps us alive here. Obviously those gamma rays don't reach us directly. They can't get very far in the core of the Sun without colliding with an atomic nucleus, and they get repeatedly absorbed and re-emitted as they work their way towards the surface in a journey that may take a million years to complete. When the photons do reach the surface, they're mostly heat and visible light, not gamma rays.

Answer 3

E=mC^2

Answer 4

Most of it is blown outward.
Wiki "Solar Wind"
Some small amount is converted to energy.
(Conversion of 4 Mil tons/sec to energy would
probably fry Jupiter.)

Answer 5

it's turned into energy (heat)