The Sun
By: Paige Tolentino
Inner Zones/Layers
Core
This is the inner most part of the sun. It releases energy though nuclear fusion. Is 15 million degrees(F). The core is 150 times as dense as water.
Radio Active Zone
This is the second layer of the sun. Light takes 100,000 years to move through this layer.
Convection Zone
This is the layer above the Radioactive zone. If this zone is dense enough energy from the core in the form of light can be converted into energy. Much like the bubbles in a pot of boiling, the heat from the edge of the radiative zone rises until it cools enough that it sinks back down. This pattern of heated material rising then cooling happens in big bubbles called convection cells.
Solar Atmosphere
Photosphere
This is the zone that where the material reaches the top and cools by giving off light. This is the first area of the sun that is visible to us. This is also where the solar atmosphere starts. Its temperature is around 5,800 Celsius or 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Chromosphere
This is the layer above the photosphere that is about 2,000 km thick. The temperature increases as you move higher into the atmosphere it gets hotter. The chromosphere no longer appears white, it now appears as red flares.
Corona
The highest part of the solar atmosphere is the Corona. Unlike the Earth's atmosphere the sun's gets hotter as you get higher. At 20,000-25,000 km away from the solar surface the corona has an average temperature of 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 million degrees Celsius. But the density is very low, about 1 billion times less dense than water.
Sunspots
Sunspots are temporary dots that appear on the sun. These are spots on the sun that are cooler than the rest of the sun.
Prominence
A prominence is a large, bright, gaseous feature extending outward from the Sun's surface, often in a loop shape. These are the rays that you draw from the sun.
Flare
A solar flare is a tremendous explosion on the Sun that happens when energy stored in 'twisted' magnetic fields (usually above sunspots) is suddenly released.
aurora
An aurora is the green blue and purple rays that appear at the poles. This is caused by CME's that come off the sun and collide with the Earth's magnetic fields.