The structure of the Sun

3D ModelNoAI

From the interior to the outer atmosphere: core, where nuclear reaction occurs, the engine of the star; radiative zone, where energy is primarily transported toward the exterior by means of radiative diffusion; convective zone, where energy is primarily transported by convection; photosphere, the shell from which light is radiated; chromosphere, a layer above the photosphere, from where a forest of hairy-appearing spicules rise; corona, atop the chromosphere through a thin transition region, the outermost part of the star’s atmosphere, where the plasma is very tenuos and hot. The phostosphere surface is characterized by granules, due to convection of plasma within the convective zone, and sunspots, temporary regions of reduced temperature. The corona is a very dynamic and inhomogeneous environement made of loops and that hosts very energetic and transient phenomena as flares and coronal mass ejections.

Credit: INAF-OAPA. Granules: D.K. Inouye Solar Telescope. Music provided by https://filmstro.com/.