THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE SUN

  1. CORE: This is the innermost part of the Sun where energy is made by billions of nuclear reactions every second.
  2. RADIATIVE ZONE: This is probably the largest part of the Sun and is where all the energy made in the core travels through before reaching the outer parts of the Sun. It is called the radiative zone because the energy is being transported by radiation (not convection or conduction).
  3. CONVECTION ZONE: This part of the Sun contains enormous regions of gas travelling up and down as it is heated and cooled. So in this region the energy transport is by convection, hence the name!
  4. SUNSPOTS: These are massive areas (hundreds of times bigger that the Earth!) that can be seen on the solar surface. They are caused by huge magnetic fields coming up through the Sun's surface and appear dark because they are cooler than the rest of the Sun's surface.
  5. PHOTOSPHERE: This is the visible surface of the Sun which produces the sunlight we use to see everything around us. This light is also used by plants to make food.
  6. CHROMOSPHERE: This is the part of the solar atmosphere that is located above the photosphere and beneath the corona. The chromosphere is hotter than the photosphere but not as hot as the corona.
  7. CORONA: This is the outermost layer of the solar atmosphere. The corona consists of very thin gas at a temperature greater than one million degrees -- this is the piece we can see during total eclipses.
  8. CORONAL STREAMER: These are huge magnetic loops of very hot gas. They too are visible during total solar eclipses.