All About the Sun
NCVPS Earth and Environmental Science 2016 Spring Semester
What is the sun?
The sun is a star that Earth orbits around. The sun lies at the heart of our solar system and Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter orbit the sun as well! It is 99.8 percent of our solar systems mass. It is almost 10,000 degrees fahrenheit. From the inside out, the sun is made up from the core layer, radiative zone, convective zone. They layers above the sun are the photosphere, chromosphere and corona.
Layers of the Sun
Core
This is the sun's central region. This is where the nuclear reactions occur to form helium from hydrogen. The center of the sun is approximately 27 million degrees fahrenheit.
Radiative Zone
The radiative layer is just above the core! This zone transports radiation. The energy that is transported is carried by light and bounced from particle to particle.
Convective Zone
The convective zone is the outermost layer of the sun. It is about 3 million degrees fahrenheit. This layer traps heat from the core and radiative zone through convection!
Photosphere
The photosphere is the deepest layer of the sun that we can observe directly. It is a layer of gas.
Chromosphere
The chromosphere can only be seen during a solar eclipse. It is a layer of gases but it is typically too subtle to be seen against the photosphere.
Corona
The Corona is the outermost layer of the sun. It has no limit. It can only be seen during a total solar eclipse (like the chromosphere) and using a coronagraph.
Vocabulary To Know!
Sun Spot
A sunspot is dark spot on the sun that is colder than the sun (the sun is 5800 degrees kelvin and sunspots are 3800 degrees kelvin). Sun spots are believed to be mild explosion caused by the suns magnetic field but scientists are not sure what causes them!
Solar Prominence
A solar prominence is an arc of gas that has erupted from the sun's surface.
Solar Flares
Solar flares are bright spots on the sun that minor, high energy eruptions. They can reach 24 million degrees fahrenheit!
The Northern Lights
The northern lights (aura borealis) are caused by the sun. The suns energy is carried towards the earth with solar wind. It has electrically charged particles.
By Gabi Overcast-Hawks
NCVPS Earth and Environmental Honors Science
2016 Spring Semester