1. Core:
* Location: The innermost region of the Sun.
* Size: Roughly 1/4 the Sun's radius.
* Temperature: Around 15 million degrees Celsius (27 million degrees Fahrenheit).
* What happens here: Nuclear fusion occurs, converting hydrogen into helium and releasing tremendous energy that powers the Sun.
2. Radiative Zone:
* Location: Extends outward from the core.
* Size: About 70% of the Sun's radius.
* Temperature: Decreases from about 7 million to 2 million degrees Celsius (13 million to 3.6 million degrees Fahrenheit).
* What happens here: Energy from the core travels outward as photons, but they constantly collide with atoms, causing a slow, energy-transferring process.
3. Convective Zone:
* Location: Above the radiative zone.
* Size: About 30% of the Sun's radius.
* Temperature: Around 2 million degrees Celsius (3.6 million degrees Fahrenheit).
* What happens here: Energy travels outward through the movement of hot gas, like boiling water.
4. Photosphere:
* Location: The visible surface of the Sun.
* Size: Only about 500 kilometers (310 miles) thick.
* Temperature: Around 5,500 degrees Celsius (9,932 degrees Fahrenheit).
* What happens here: This is where the light we see from the Sun originates. It's also the location of sunspots, cooler areas that appear darker.
5. Chromosphere:
* Location: The layer above the photosphere.
* Size: About 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) thick.
* Temperature: Rises rapidly to around 100,000 degrees Celsius (180,000 degrees Fahrenheit).
* What happens here: This is where solar flares and prominences originate, and it can be seen during eclipses as a reddish glow around the Sun.
6. Corona:
* Location: The outermost layer of the Sun's atmosphere.
* Size: Extends millions of kilometers into space.
* Temperature: Incredibly hot, reaching millions of degrees Celsius.
* What happens here: The corona is incredibly thin and has a low density, but it contains superheated gas and can be seen during eclipses as a faint, white halo around the Sun.
These layers are important for understanding how the Sun functions and its influence on the Earth and the solar system.
