The Sun
by Easton Kilgore
Core
The core of the sun is where all the energy comes from. The average temperature is 15 million Kelvins, or 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. The sun's nuclear fusion originates from this area.
Radioactive Zone
The radioactive zone is the layer directly above the core. Protons move at the speed of light, but take thousands of years to get out of this area.
Convective Zone
In this zone, plasma rises to the sun's surface, cools, and then falls back down to be heated again. It is called the convective zone, because it is unstable to convection.
Photosphere
When the energy from the sun finally leaves the convective zone, it will exit through the photosphere. This is equivalent to Earth's crust, because it is the visible part of the sun, and the one that we are familiar with.
Chromosphere
Once gas, plasma, and energy leave the photosphere, it immediately enters the chromosphere. This layer is only clear in total solar eclipses, and the super heated hydrogen here is the cause of the reddish layer you see in an eclipse.
Corona
The corona emits plasma and energy in many wavelengths, and only a few can be seen from Earth in an eclipse or with a coronagraph. Our sun's corona extends millions of miles from the photosphere.
Sunspots
The blemishes you see here on the photosphere of the sun are called sunspots. They are dark, because they're relatively colder and darker than the places around it. These phenomena move about the photosphere, and can die out at any time. A few days to a few months are the most common times, though. Concentrations of magnetic field flux cause these spots to occur.
Prominence
A prominence is a large, bright, gaseous feature extending from the photosphere, usually in a loop shape. They are anchored to the photosphere, and extend outwards to the corona. These can last for a few years, at most.
Solar Flare
Solar flares occur when magnetic energy in the sun's atmosphere that has built up over the years is suddenly released. The energy released is in the form of accelerated and heated particles. These are the largest explosions that have happened in our solar system. Flares on other suns can be 1000 times more powerful, and last more than a week.
Aurora
An aurora is a natural light display in the sky usually seen near the poles. They appear when the magnetosphere is disturbed by solar winds from the sun. They appear in Earth's thermosphere and exosphere.
Citations
http://jessbarkertheuniverse.weebly.com/the-sun.html
https://www.haikudeck.com/inner-layers-of-the-sun-education-presentation-n39feucBAs
http://phys.org/news/2011-12-astronomers-reveal-rapidly-core-stars.html
http://www.windows2universe.org/sun/Solar_interior/Sun_layers/Core/core.html
http://www.windows2universe.org/sun/Solar_interior/Sun_layers/Convection_zone/convection_zone.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convection_zone
http://www.space.com/17160-sun-atmosphere.html
http://solar.physics.montana.edu/ypop/Spotlight/SunInfo/Corona.html
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/solar/solflare.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/space/9097587/Solar-flares-everything-you-need-to-know.html