1. Core:
* Location: The very center of the Sun.
* Characteristics: This is where nuclear fusion takes place, converting hydrogen into helium and releasing immense energy.
* Temperature: Around 15 million degrees Celsius (27 million degrees Fahrenheit).
* Density: Extremely dense, due to the immense pressure.
2. Radiative Zone:
* Location: Surrounds the core.
* Characteristics: Energy from the core travels outwards through this zone as electromagnetic radiation.
* Temperature: Decreases from about 7 million to 2 million degrees Celsius (12.6 million to 3.6 million degrees Fahrenheit).
3. Convective Zone:
* Location: Lies above the radiative zone.
* Characteristics: Energy is transported outward through this zone by convection (hotter, less dense gas rises, cooler denser gas sinks).
* Temperature: Ranges from 2 million to 5,500 degrees Celsius (3.6 million to 9,932 degrees Fahrenheit).
4. Photosphere:
* Location: The visible surface of the Sun.
* Characteristics: This is the layer we see when we look at the Sun. It emits most of the sunlight we receive.
* Temperature: About 5,500 degrees Celsius (9,932 degrees Fahrenheit).
5. Chromosphere:
* Location: A thin layer above the photosphere.
* Characteristics: This layer is normally hidden by the bright photosphere, but can be seen during solar eclipses. It appears reddish due to the emission of hydrogen alpha light.
* Temperature: Increases with altitude, reaching up to 100,000 degrees Celsius (180,000 degrees Fahrenheit).
6. Corona:
* Location: The outermost layer of the Sun's atmosphere, extending millions of kilometers into space.
* Characteristics: It is extremely hot and thin, with temperatures reaching over a million degrees Celsius (1.8 million degrees Fahrenheit). This is a mystery, as the corona is farther from the Sun's core than the chromosphere.
* Appearance: Can be seen during total solar eclipses as a faint halo surrounding the Sun.
Additional Layers:
* Transition Region: A narrow, intermediate layer between the chromosphere and corona where the temperature rapidly increases.
* Solar Wind: A continuous stream of charged particles flowing outward from the corona.
It's important to note that these layers blend into each other rather than having sharp boundaries.
