The Sun's Layers
The sun is made up of mostly hydrogen and some helium. It has a diameter of 1 408 000km. The sun is made up of six layers: core, radiation, convection, photosphere, chromosphere and corona.
The core is the innermost layer and is the main source of the suns energy. It has a temperature of over 4 billion degrees Celsius. This means that the core keeps the energy output consistent. Protons and neutrons bounce around creating plasma, nucleus reactions and energy. The high temperature and density creates fusions.
The energy is then passed from atom to atom until it then reaches the radiation zone, This process takes 170 000 years.
The energy then travels to the radiative zone. This layer of the sun is cooler than the core but still has a high temperature of 14 million degrees Celsius. It is cool enough for some atoms to stay intact and absorb energy. This is where fusions of hydrogen nuclei take place. The radiation zone provides an efficient means of transferring energy near the core. Heat is transferred by irons of hydrogen and helium.
The energy is then transferred to the convection layer. This is the boiling zone of the sun as it is 2 000 000 This is the layer where all the gases bubble up on the surface the rising and falling granules. Hot energy rises and the cool energy sinks to the bottom. Much faster than radiation. Takes over one week for hot material to move through the layer.
The photosphere is the apparent surface of the sun which is completely made of gas. It does not have a solid surface and the gas that it contains becomes dense as we can not see it. It is the coolest part of the sun at a temperature of -6000 degrees Celsius. The gas is thin so atoms can absorb and release energy. The photosphere contains sunspots that can be seen on the surface of the sun. They are cooler than the surrounding gas. They can last from one hour to several months.
The chromosphere is red in appearance as it has a hydrogen layer. This layer is 2000km thick and has a temperature that ranges from 6000°C to 50 000°C. The chromosphere has jagged layers that look like flames. These jagged flames can reach from 32 000km to 400 000km in height. These flames can last from a few days to weeks.
The final layer of the sun is called the corona. This is a very thin and feint layer that stretches out into space. This layer has a temperature of 1.5 million degrees Celsius. The corona is only seen when the sun is blocked by the moon, e.g. solar eclipse. How much you see and the shape of it also varies on the amount of magnetic field. The particles on the corona are able to reach Earth's orbit.
The core is the innermost layer and is the main source of the suns energy. It has a temperature of over 4 billion degrees Celsius. This means that the core keeps the energy output consistent. Protons and neutrons bounce around creating plasma, nucleus reactions and energy. The high temperature and density creates fusions.
The energy is then passed from atom to atom until it then reaches the radiation zone, This process takes 170 000 years.
The energy then travels to the radiative zone. This layer of the sun is cooler than the core but still has a high temperature of 14 million degrees Celsius. It is cool enough for some atoms to stay intact and absorb energy. This is where fusions of hydrogen nuclei take place. The radiation zone provides an efficient means of transferring energy near the core. Heat is transferred by irons of hydrogen and helium.
The energy is then transferred to the convection layer. This is the boiling zone of the sun as it is 2 000 000 This is the layer where all the gases bubble up on the surface the rising and falling granules. Hot energy rises and the cool energy sinks to the bottom. Much faster than radiation. Takes over one week for hot material to move through the layer.
The photosphere is the apparent surface of the sun which is completely made of gas. It does not have a solid surface and the gas that it contains becomes dense as we can not see it. It is the coolest part of the sun at a temperature of -6000 degrees Celsius. The gas is thin so atoms can absorb and release energy. The photosphere contains sunspots that can be seen on the surface of the sun. They are cooler than the surrounding gas. They can last from one hour to several months.
The chromosphere is red in appearance as it has a hydrogen layer. This layer is 2000km thick and has a temperature that ranges from 6000°C to 50 000°C. The chromosphere has jagged layers that look like flames. These jagged flames can reach from 32 000km to 400 000km in height. These flames can last from a few days to weeks.
The final layer of the sun is called the corona. This is a very thin and feint layer that stretches out into space. This layer has a temperature of 1.5 million degrees Celsius. The corona is only seen when the sun is blocked by the moon, e.g. solar eclipse. How much you see and the shape of it also varies on the amount of magnetic field. The particles on the corona are able to reach Earth's orbit.
Sunspots
From the earth, the sun looks like a smooth ball of light without any imperfections. This is not actually the case. On the photosphere layer of the sun, you can sometimes see a sunspot. They appear as dark spots on the sun's surface due to them being cooling then the surrounding areas. They are only temporary and can last a few hours to several months. After this period of time, they return to their original colour and temperature as the other parts of the sun. On rare occasions a sunspot can be seen on a sun rise or sunset.
Solar Flares
A solar flare is a sudden brightening observed over the sun's surface. A solar flare occurs when the magnetic energy builds up in the solar atmosphere and is suddenly released. This emits radiation across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. The amount of energy released is equivalent to millions of nuclear bombs exploding at the same time. Solar flares extend to the outer layer of the sun called the corona.
Bibliography
http://www.spacestationinfo.com/layers-sun.html
http://www.cora.nwra.com/~werne/eos/text/convection_zone.html
Teacher notes - Aardoom, Ellka EA (2012) Hackney, T
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_flare
http://hesperia.gsfc.nasa.gov/sftheory/flare.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunspot
http://www.spacestationinfo.com/layers-sun.html
http://www.cora.nwra.com/~werne/eos/text/convection_zone.html
Teacher notes - Aardoom, Ellka EA (2012) Hackney, T
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_flare
http://hesperia.gsfc.nasa.gov/sftheory/flare.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunspot