Layers of the Sun Quiz: Core, Radiative, Convective Zones

Study Notes

Structure of the Sun

The Sun's core extends from the center to about a quarter of the way to its surface, making up roughly 2% of the Sun's volume.
The core is incredibly dense, with a density almost 15 times that of lead, and holds nearly half of the Sun's mass.
Nuclear reactions in the core, where hydrogen is fused to form helium, power the Sun's heat and light.

Radiative Zone

The radiative zone extends from the core to 70% of the way to the Sun's surface.
Light from the core gets scattered in this zone, taking a million years to pass through.
Radiation from the core bounces off in this zone, hence the name radiative zone.

Convective Zone

The convective zone reaches up to the Sun's surface, making up 66% of the Sun's volume.
Roiling "convection cells" of gas dominate this zone, with large bubbles of hot plasma moving upward toward the photosphere.
There are two main kinds of solar convection cells: granulation cells and supergranulation cells.

Photosphere/ Chromosphere/ Heliosphere

The photosphere is the lowest layer of the Sun's atmosphere, emitting the light we see.
The photosphere is much cooler than the core, but still hot enough to make carbon boil.
Most of the Sun's radiation escapes outward from the photosphere into space.
The chromosphere is a thin layer where the chromosphere rapidly heats and becomes the corona.
The corona is the Sun's upper atmosphere, where sunspots, coronal holes, and solar flares occur.
During total solar eclipses, the chromosphere looks like a fine, red rim around the Sun, while the corona forms a beautiful white crown with plasma streamers.

Magnetosphere/ Heliosphere

The Sun generates magnetic fields that extend out into space to form the interplanetary magnetic field.
The vast bubble of space dominated by the Sun's magnetic field is called the heliosphere.
Every 11 years, the Sun's geographic poles change their magnetic polarity, leading to a change in the Sun's activity.

Features of the Sun

Sunspots are areas of the Sun's surface that are slightly cooler than the surrounding photosphere, created by bits of the Sun's magnetic field poking out from the interior.
Coronal holes are patches of the Sun's atmosphere with much lower density than the surrounding areas.
Solar flares are energetic bursts of light and particles triggered by the release of magnetic energy on the Sun.
Coronal mass ejections are immense clouds of magnetized particles blasted into space by the Sun at over a million miles per hour.

Description

Test your knowledge on the different layers of the Sun including the core, radiative zone, convective zone, and photosphere/chromosphere/heliosphere. Learn about the characteristics and functions of each layer.