Layers of the Sun: Explained with Structure and Diagram

We know that our solar system consists of the sun and the planets. The Sun is the solar system’s most significant component. It is crucial for all forms of life on Earth. Food is produced by plants with the assistance of the sun. Additionally, it gives animals energy, tells us when to go to bed and wake up, and even alters the seasons! The layers of the earth are known to us all. Moreover, did you know that the Sun has various layers? There are seven distinct layers to the Sun if we could truly peel it like an onion. Quite cool right? Continue reading to learn more about the layers of the sun in detail, in this Physics article.

Layers of the Sun

The star at the heart of our solar system is the Sun. Its weight is 4 trillion pounds. About 3,30,000 piles of the Earth are equivalent to it. About 99.9% of the mass of the solar system is likewise made up of the Sun. We live on a yellow dwarf star, the Sun. It has been around for 4.6 billion years and has 5 billion years left before its hydrogen supply runs out.

The seven layers of the sun are separated into outer and inner layers. There are 3 inner and 4 outer layers. The Sun’s energy is produced in its inner layers. The photosphere, chromosphere, transition area, and corona make up the outer layers while the core, radiative zone, and convection zone make up the inner layers. The atmosphere that surrounds the Sun, which is found in its outer layers, serves as a jacket. The Sun releases so much light and energy thanks in large part to the contribution of all these layers.

Layers of the Sun Diagram

Structure of the Sun

The Sun could appear homogeneous or solid from the outside. The Sun is a huge ball of extremely hot, heavily ionized gas that shines on its own, like all stars. The Sun has a diameter that could store 109 Earths side by side and a volume that could hold around 1.3 million Earths. So yes, it is really huge in size.

The Sun does not have a solid core or a solid surface like Earth. It also does not have continents. However, it has a lot of structure and can be thought of as an onion’s worth of layers. The vast interior and atmosphere of the Sun, as well as the dynamic and dramatic eruptions that take place there every day.

Layers of the Sun’s Atmosphere

The outer layer and inner layer are two different categories of the layers of the sun. Let’s investigate them one by one.

Outer Layer

Photosphere 

• The lowest and directly observable layer of the Sun is called the photosphere. It is also known as the solar surface.
• Granulation brought on by boiling gas in the convection layer and sunspots brought on by powerful magnetic fields cover a large portion of this layer.
• In the photosphere, the granulation of the Sun appears rough, giving the appearance of bright cells with black edges.
• The temperature of the photosphere fluctuates from about 6500 K at the bottom to 4000 K at the top.

Chromosphere

• Between 250 and 1300 miles above the photosphere is the layer of the Sun known as the chromosphere. Temperatures in the chromosphere range from 4000 K at its base to 8000 K at its apex.
• As a result, the temperature in this layer and other higher layers of the Sun rises further from the Sun as opposed to lower levels where the temperature rises closer to the centre.

Transition region

• The transition area is an extremely thin, 60-mile-wide layer that lies between the chromosphere and the corona.
• Temperatures in the transition zone quickly increase from 8,000 to 500,000 K. Scientists have not yet determined what is causing this rapid temperature rise.

Corona

• The Sun’s corona is its topmost layer. It has no upper bound and begins about 1300 miles above the photosphere.
• Its temperature ranges from 500,000 to 1,000,000 K.
• During a total solar eclipse, the corona can be seen using a coronagraph telescope even though it cannot be seen with the unaided eye.

Inner Layer

Core

• The core of the Sun is its central part, where thermonuclear processes produce energy at extremely high temperatures of roughly 15 million °C.
• Helium is created in these nuclear processes from hydrogen. According to studies, this causes energy to be released from the Sun’s surface and escape as light and heat that we experience here on Earth.
• The core extends to the Sun’s centre at a distance of about one-quarter.

Radiative zone

• Approximately 70% of the Sun’s radius lies in this region, which is situated between the core and the convective zone.
• It takes more than 170,000 years for electromagnetic radiation created by nuclear fusion in the core to travel through the radiative zone.
• In this region, photon carriers bounce numerous times along zigzagging routes as they carry energy outward by radiation.

Convection zone

• The outermost layer of the Sun’s interior is located above the radiative zone. It reaches up to the surface from a depth of about 200,000 kilometres.
• At the convection zone’s bottom, the temperature is close to 2,000,000 °C.
• Gas that has been heated and cooled creates convection currents that carry energy towards the Sun’s surface. When the radiative zone’s density falls to a very low level, heat instead of light energy from the core is produced.
• Radiative zone edge heat rises until it becomes cool enough to fall back down. In the convection zone cells, heated material rises and cools in this pattern.

We believe you have a basic understanding of the sun’s layers. Visit the Testbook app to uncover more amazing physics jargon! You can study with the aid of numerous practice examinations and carefully curated written notes. The Android versions of the phone are compatible with this software. Download the Testbook App right away!