LAYERS OF THE SUN

LAYERS OF THE SUN

The Sun's core is a hot, dense nuclear reactor, fusing hydrogen atoms into helium and releasing energy that travels through its surface and into interstellar space

A cooler radiation zone surrounds the solar core, where photons travel from ion to ion, efficiently moving the massive amount of energy produced in the core outwards.


2008 April 23

SOHO Gallery

This sketch gives a basic overview of the Sun's parts. The three major interior zones are the core (the innermost part of the Sun where energy is generated by nuclear reactions), the radiative zone (where energy travels outward through a layer about 70% of the solar radius of the Sun), and the convection zone (in which convection currents circulate the Sun's energy to the surface). The flare, sunspots and photosphere, chromosphere, and the prominence are all clipped from actual SOHO images of the Sun.

Layers
of the Sun




Convection Zone



Quiet Photosphere

Active Photosphere

Chromo- sphere

Transition Region and Corona

Heliosphere