unique characteristics of the sun corona

Unique characteristics of the sun corona how to#

This “radiative zone” extends about three-quarters of the way to the surface. In the innermost shell, right above the core, energy is carried outwards by radiation.

Since we can’t see inside the Sun, most of what astronomers know about this subject comes from combining theoretical models of the Sun’s interior with observational facts such as the Sun’s mass, surface temperature, and luminosity (total amount of energy output from the surface).Īll of the energy that we detect as light and heat originates from nuclear reactions deep inside the Sun’s high-temperature “core.” This core extends about one-quarter of the way from the center of Sun (where the temperature is around 15.7 million kelvin (K), or 28 million degrees Fahrenheit) to its surface, which is only 5778 K “cool”.Ībove this core, we can think of the Sun’s interior as being like two nested spherical shells that surround the core. The process by which energy escapes from the Sun is very complex. The energy produced through fusion in the Sun’s core powers the Sun and produces all of the heat and light that we receive here on Earth.

and finally the outermost layer, the corona.

then there is the visible surface known as the photosphere,.

the solar interior composed of the core (which occupies the innermost quarter or so of the Sun’s radius),.

From the center out, the layers of the Sun are as follows: These speeds are so high that the particles can escape the Sun's gravity.Ĭonceptual animation (not to scale) showing the Sun's corona and solar wind.The Sun, as shown by the illustration to the left, can be divided into six layers.

The corona's temperature causes its particles to move at very high speeds. From it comes the solar wind that travels through our solar system. We can view these features in detail with special telescopes. These include streamers, loops, and plumes. The Sun's magnetic fields affect charged particles in the corona to form beautiful features. This is the force that makes magnets stick to metal, like the door of your refrigerator. The surface of the Sun is covered in magnetic fields. But astronomers think that this is only one of many ways in which the corona is heated. In the corona, the heat bombs explode and release their energy as heat. The mission discovered packets of very hot material called 'heat bombs' that travel from the Sun into the corona. Yet the corona is hundreds of times hotter than the Sun’s surface.Ī NASA mission called IRIS may have provided one possible answer. The corona is in the outer layer of the Sun’s atmosphere-far from its surface. This is the opposite of what seems to happen on the Sun.Īstronomers have been trying to solve this mystery for a long time. But when you walk away from the fire, you feel cooler. Imagine that you’re sitting next to a campfire. The corona’s high temperatures are a bit of a mystery. Image of corona from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory showing features created by magnetic fields.

This low density makes the corona much less bright than the surface of the Sun. Why? The corona is about 10 million times less dense than the Sun’s surface. The corona reaches extremely high temperatures.

Unique characteristics of the sun corona how to#

Find tips on how to safely view an eclipse here. Remember to never look directly at the Sun, even during an eclipse.