Imagine what is going on inside the sun! Scientists have been trying to get a glimpse at the interior of the sun without much luck since we cannot send any probes there.
Today we can only use spectroscopy from space telescopes or solar eclipses to guess how it looks like inside our star. It is said that if someone could view a solar eclipse from its core he would see nothing because of the intense radiation there. So let’s learn about 10 secrets about the core of our star!
10 Secrets of the Inside of the Sun
- 10 Secrets of the Inside of the Sun
- 1. The inside of the sun consists of at least six layers
- 2. The temperature of the sun's core is 15 million kelvin, or 15 million degrees Celsius (27 million degrees Fahrenheit)
- 3. The density at the sun's core is 150 times the density of water
- 4. The inside of the sun spins about once every 25 days
- 5. The magnetic field inside the sun is 11 times stronger than the magnetic field on the surface of the sun
- 6. The radius of the core of the sun makes up 20-25% of the sun's radius
- 7. The sun's core consists of 25% hydrogen and 75% helium
- 8. The density of the sun's core is four times larger than the density of the Earth's core
- 9. It is believed that the sun 's radiative zone makes up nearly half the radius of the sun
- 10. The temperature of the radiative zone is about 8,000,000 kelvin or 8 million degrees Celsius (10 million degrees Fahrenheit)
- More information:
1. The inside of the sun consists of at least six layers
If you were to dig down in the sun (if only you could do this!) you would find the core at its center. Above this core is the radiative zone where energy travels in the form of radiation waves. Outside this zone there is a convection zone, where energy travels by the flowing movement of materials. Sun spots and solar flares are generated in this zone.
These core, radiative zone and convection zone make up the inner layers. We cannot observe these regions with visible light. The only way we can understand it is by searching for other energy waves coming from the sun like radio waves, or looking at its gravity field. The rest we know from detailed calculations and modeling.
The outer layers are visible to us, as long as you don’t stare at it directly and unprotected with your own eyes. The layer at what we would call the sun’s surface is the photosphere. This photosphere is the region from where our light is emitted. Right above the surface is the coldest part of the sun. The temperature is cool enough for simple carbon molecules to exist, but still way to hot for us to enjoy some sunshine.
The chromosphere, transition region, corona and helioshpere make up the sun’s atmosphere. Interestingly, the sun’s atmosphere is much hotter than the sun’s surface. This is most likely due to energy waves that occur in plasma, a supercharged gas. This atmosphere is only visible to our eyes at a total solar eclipse when our moon blocks the light coming directly from the sun’s surface.
2. The temperature of the sun’s core is 15 million kelvin, or 15 million degrees Celsius (27 million degrees Fahrenheit)
That is one hot barbecue inside the sun! In comparison, the Earth‘s core is 5,700 kelvin, which is about the same as the temperature at the surface of the sun.
3. The density at the sun’s core is 150 times the density of water
It’s this density which gives rise to the sun’s immense gravitational pull. This gravitational pull keeps our beloved Earth, and the other planets in orbit around the sun.
4. The inside of the sun spins about once every 25 days
However, this spinning rate is not the same everywhere, because the sun is not solid. The spinning rate at the poles is once every 30 days, giving the star an average rotation period of 27 days.
5. The magnetic field inside the sun is 11 times stronger than the magnetic field on the surface of the sun
This means that the magnetic field at the surface is only 1% as strong as the field at the core. This is because the magnetic field becomes more condensed inside the sun making it more intense. The same is true for the Earth and its magnetic field.
6. The radius of the core of the sun makes up 20-25% of the sun’s radius
This means that from the center of the sun you have to travel 140,000 km to reach the core’s edge. This is the same as about 25 times the radius of the Earth!
7. The sun’s core consists of 25% hydrogen and 75% helium
That is good, that means that there is enough fuel for the sun to keep going. Hydrogen and helium are the main elements the sun uses for nuclear fusion. It is nuclear fusion that keeps the sun hot and shining.
8. The density of the sun’s core is four times larger than the density of the Earth’s core
That is really, really dense. The Earth‘s core is already so dense that superhot nickel and iron can’t become fluid, but have to remain solid. Imagine how dense the sun’s interior must be!
9. It is believed that the sun ‘s radiative zone makes up nearly half the radius of the sun
This layer of plasma is about 300,000 km thick. Energy is mainly transported via radiation transmitted from the hot plasma. This transmission is very complicated and it takes a long time for a single photon (radiation energy particle) to travel through.
10. The temperature of the radiative zone is about 8,000,000 kelvin or 8 million degrees Celsius (10 million degrees Fahrenheit)
The sun’s radiative zone is more than 1000 times hotter than the surface of the sun. Only, we don’t see the glowing radiation from this zone. Our light comes from the much higher photosphere.
