The Sun

Chapter Objectives
1. Analyze the structure of the Sun

2. Describe the different features of the Sun

3. Understand the Sun mechanism

4. Explain the process of the Sun

 SUN
A local star which is a huge sphere of hot gas that makes up
♡ 99% of the Solar System mass.
Its radius is 696,000 kilometers which is 100 Earth radii
♡ and its mass is 300, 000 times that of the Earth.
It is made up of about 70% hydrogen, 28% helium, and
♡ the remaining 2% is made up of carbon, nitrogen and
oxygen.
 Main
Regions of
the Sun
The Sun is divided to several layers
due to various temperatures and
pressures as you go towards its
center. Under changing conditions,
elements behave differently.
 Core
MAIN REGIONS OF THE SUN
Radiative Zone

Convective Zone

Photosphere

Chromosphere

Transition Zone

Corona
01.
CORE
 CORE
☀ Innermost part of the Sun.

☀ It is 200,000 kilometers across and more than 15 million degrees

Celsius.

☀ This region is where nuclear reaction takes place due to its high
temperature and density.

☀ It is where hydrogen is converted to helium and this reaction produces the

light and heat we experience here on Earth.

☀ Atoms are made up of protons, neutrons and electrons.

☀ Due to tremendous heat inside the Sun's core, atoms disintegrate into its
sub- atomic components.
 CORE
☆ The free-floating charged ☆ The proton then collides with a
particles, which is also called plasma, deuterium forming a helium-3 nucleus
remain in the core and fuels the Sun. and a gamma ray.

☆ Nuclear burning in stars takes ☆ Finally, the two helium-3 collide

place in a process called to form a normal helium-4 nucleus,
proton-proton chain. First, two releasing two protons.
protons collide to form deuterium,
positron and neutrino.
 02.
RADIATIVE
ZONE
RADIATIVE ZONE
☾ The temperature in the Radiative Zone
is a little cooler than that of the core.

☾ From the outer part of the core which is 0.2 solar

radii this region of the sun extends up to 0.7 solar
radii.
☾ The tremendous amount of energy that was produced in the core is
carried by light (photon) and bounces from particle to particle several
times in the radiative zone.

☾ Photons travel at speed of light, a single photon can take almost

200,000 years to get out of the core and reach the radiative zone.
 03.
CONVECTIVE
ZONE
 CONVECTIVE
☯ It is the outermost part of Sun's interior with a
temperature of two million degrees Celsius.
☯ This temperature is 'cool' enough for some
ions to hold on to their electrons making this part
of the Sun opaque for radiation to pass through.
☯ This temperature is 'cool' enough for some ZONE
ions to hold on to their electrons making
this part of the Sun opaque for ☯ The fluid will be unstable due to trapped heat until
radiation to pass through.
convection occurs.
☯ Hotter materials at the bottom of the convective zone rises up
while the cooler ones sink to the bottom.
☯ The hotter material that goes up will eventually cool down
and wand back to the bottom. This process is comparable to a pot
of boiling
 04.
PHOTOSPHERE
 PHOTOSPHERE
☺ It is the layer of the Sun that we can see (through a filter, NEVER
LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN) here on Earth.

☺This is not a solid surface of the sun like an Earth’s crust since it is a
sphere of hot gas. Instead it is just another layer 100 kilometers thick.
☺It is approximately 6,000 degrees Kelvin, cool enough for atoms to absorb
and release energy. The light we receive here on Earth takes eight minutes to travel from the
Sun, and actually comes from the atoms in this layer which released the energy.

☺Some features, which will be discussed later, can be seen such as sunspots, granulation and
faculae.
 05.
CHROMOSPHERE
CHROMOSPHERE
Example of Solar Flare found
in the Chromosphere

❀ Layer next to ❀A reddish ❀ A lot of features ❀ Some of which

photosphere and is 2,000 color is emitted can be seen when one include plages,
kilometers thick and the by hydrogen at views the Sun using a spicules, filaments,
temperature rises from these high Hydrogen-a filter. prominences and
6,000 degrees Celsius to temperatures. solar flares.
20,000 degrees Celsius
 06.
TRANSITION REGION
Taken on Dec. 31, 2013 by the AIA instrument on NASA's Solar
Dynamics Observatory, shows the current conditions of the quiet
corona and upper transition region of the sun.
Transition Region
A very thin layer of the Sun of about 100 kilometers.
Temperatures extremely vary from 20,000 degrees
Kelvin to about two million degrees at the corona.
Beside from these information, nothing is known much of
this region.
Several missions are currently studying and gather data
on the structure of this layer such as Transition Region
and Coronal Explorer (TRACE).
Researchers still try to understand the dramatic
temperature changes in this region when in fact, it is far
from the core.
 07.
CORONA
The sun's outer atmosphere, called the CORONA , ejected streams
of material in February 2000 , taken by NASA's Solar and
Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)
CORONA

❆ Outermost layer of the ❆ Particles in this region ❆ When this particles interact
Sun and is fairly visible stretches out far into space with Earth's magnetic field, a
during a total solar eclipse. filling it with constant flow of majestic show of lights is being
solar wind. showcased near the poles.
SOLAR
CORONA at
ECLIPSE
November 3, 1994
Northern Lights: Norway, 2016

CORONA
✡ When occurring at
the northern hemisphere,
Southern Lights
is called Aurora
Borealis .
✡ While it is called
Aurora Australis at the
southern hemisphere.
 3.
2.
1.

LABEL
THE
4.
PARTS OF
5.
THE SUN
6.
7.
 3.
2.
1. Core

LABEL
THE
4.
PARTS OF
5.
THE SUN
6.
7.
 3.
2. Radiative Zone
1. Core

LABEL
THE
4.
PARTS OF
5.
THE SUN
6.
7.
 3. Convective Zone

2. Radiative Zone
1. Core

LABEL
THE
4.
PARTS OF
5.
THE SUN
6.
7.
 3. Convective Zone

2. Radiative Zone
1. Core

LABEL
THE
4. Photosphere
PARTS OF
5.
THE SUN
6.
7.
 3. Convective Zone

2. Radiative Zone
1. Core

LABEL
THE
4. Photosphere
PARTS OF
5. Chromosphere
THE SUN
6.
7.
 3. Convective Zone

2. Radiative Zone
1. Core

LABEL
THE
4. Photosphere
PARTS OF
5. Chromosphere
THE SUN
6. Transition Zone

7.
 3. Convective Zone

2. Radiative Zone
1. Core

LABEL
THE
4. Photosphere
PARTS OF
5. Chromosphere
THE SUN
6. Transition Zone

7. Corona
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384,000 km
is the distance between Earth and the
Moon

225 days
is the time Venus takes to orbit the
Sun

49,244 km
is the diameter of Neptune, the
fourth-largest in the Solar System