The Sun and All its Layers
Solaractivity_Sam Patterson December 9, 2015
Core
The core is the center of the sun and is the source of its energy. The core is the hottest part of the sun, the temperature is about 15,000,000° kelvin (27,000,00° F and 15,000,000° C). Sun's Core Picture Link
Radiative Zone
Once the energy is produced in the core it has to travel to the outer regions of the sun. The radioactive zone transfers that energy through it as electromagnetic radiation. The temperature of the radioactive zone is colder than that of the temperature of the core. Radiative Zone Picture Link
Convective Zone
In this layer of the sun's heat is transferred through convection. This happens because in this layer, the solar plasma is not dense enough to transport the energy through radiation. Thermal columns carry the heat energy up to the surface of the sun. This then cools down and descends back to the core of the sun. Convective Zone Picture Link
Photosphere
The photosphere is the visible surface of the sun. The photosphere is a shallow layer of strongly ionized gases. Everything outside the photosphere is part of the solar atmosphere. Photosphere Picture Link
Chromosphere
The chromosphere is a thin layer of the sun (about 1,243 miles long) that is part of the solar atmosphere. It is visible as a colored flash during total eclipses of the sun. Humungous amounts of hydrogen and other gases erupt from the chromosphere. Chromosphere Picture Link
Corona
The corona is the outermost layer of the sun. Its volume is much larger than the sun itself. The corona can not be seen by the naked eyes, but only when using a coronagraph or during a total solar eclipse. The corona has no upper limit. Corona Picture Link
Sunspots
A sunspot is dark, cool area on the surface of the sun, the photosphere. Sunspots can range from very small to 31, 000 miles in diameter. They form over spots of extreme magnetic activity. When the energy is expelled coronal mass ejections and solar flares erupt. Sunspots Picture Link
Prominence
A solar prominence is also known as a filament. A prominence is an arc of gas that bursts from the photosphere (the surface of the sun). They can loop thousands of miles aways from the sun. They are held above the sun by intense magnetic fields. Prominences can last for many months, but at in their lifetime most will erupt shooting large quantities of solar substances into space. Prominence Picture Link
Flare
A solar flare is a magnetic storm on the Sun that appears to the eye as a bright spot and a gaseous explosion from the surface. They erupt from the photosphere, which is the surface of the sun. When they erupt they discharge large quantities of high energy gases and particles. The substances released are very hot at about 3.6 million to 24 million degrees Fahrenheit. These are shot into space and go thousands of miles. Flare Picture Link
Aurora
Auroras occur when highly charged electrons from solar wind react with elements from earth's atmosphere such as oxygen and nitrogen. Solar winds come from the sun towards the earth and then they flow along with the magnetic force of the Earth. The electrons of the solar wind then enter the atmosphere and hit atoms of oxygen and/or nitrogen and create the auroras. The color of these events depend on different factors such as the altitude it meets and what atom they hit. Aurora Picture Link
Works Cited
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NASA. NASA, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
"Solar Flares, Prominences, and the Solar Wind - Enchanted Learning Software." Solar Flares, Prominences, and the Solar Wind - Enchanted Learning Software. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
Staff, SPACE.com. "What Are Sunspots? | SpaceKids, Sun Science | Space.com." N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.