The Sun
By: Gavin Armstrong
The Core
- Hottest part of the Sun
- Has a density of 150 g/cm³
- 15 million degrees Celsius
- 34% of Sun's total mass
- Made of hydrogen and helium
The Radiative Zone
- Between the core and the convective zone
- Generates energy by nuclear fission
- 70% of the Sun's radius
The Convective Zone
- Transports the energy and radiation produced in the radiative zone to the outside of the Sun through convection
The Photosphere
- The visible surface of the Sun
- 100 km thick
The Chromosphere
- Lowest layer of the Sun's atmosphere
- 2000-3000 km thick
- Reddish in color
- Glows faintly
The Corona
- Outer layer of the Sun's atmosphere
- 10 billion times less dense than the atmosphere of Earth
- Can only be seen during a total solar eclipse
Sunspots
Sunspots are temporary phenomena on the photosphere of the Sun that appear visibly as dark spots compared to surrounding regions and they normally appear in pairs.
Prominence
A prominence is a large, bright, gaseous feature extending outward from the Sun's surface, often in a loop shape.
Flare
A solar flare is a sudden flash of brightness observed near the Sun's surface. It ejects clouds of electrons, ions, and atoms through the corona of the sun into space.
Aurora
An aurora is a natural display of light in the sky, usually seen in the Arctic regions. They form when the magnetosphere is disturbed by solar gusts from the Sun.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_core
- http://www.windows2universe.org/sun/Solar_interior/Sun_layers/radiative_zone.html
- http://solar.physics.montana.edu/ypop/Spotlight/SunInfo/Conzone.html
- http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/surface.shtml
- http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/sun/chromosphere.html
- http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/sun/corona.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunspot
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_prominence
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_flare
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora#Causes_of_auroras