16.3 Solar activity
The sun
In this assignment, we will learn about the sun and all of it's layers. The sun includes five layers, the photosphere, the chromosphere, the radiation zone, the convective zone, the corona, and the core
The photosphere
The photosphere is the visible surface of the sun. It is about 100 km thick, the thinnest layer of the sun.
The corona
The corona is an aura of plasma that surrounds the sun. The sun's corona extends millions of kilometres into space and is most easily seen during a total solar eclipse, but it is also observable with a coronagraph
The radiative zone
The Sun's radiative zone is the section of the solar interior between the innermost core and the outer convective zone
The chromosphere
The chromosphere is part of the top layer of the sun, along with the photosphere. Light from the chromosphere is usually too weak to be seen against the brighter photosphere
The core
The sun's core is the central region where nuclear reactions consume hydrogen to form helium.
The convective zone
The convective zone is a region of turbulent plasma between a star's core and its visible photosphere at the surface, through which energy is transferred by convection
Sunspots
Sunspots are temporary phenomena on the photosphere of the Sun that appear visibly as dark spots
Solar prominence
A prominence is a large, bright, gaseous feature extending outward from the Sun's surface, often in a loop shape
Solar flares
Solar flares are a brief eruption of intense high-energy radiation from the sun's surface
Auroras
Aurora's are one effect of such energetic particles, which can speed out from the sun both in a steady stream called the solar wind.