Photosphere

Although we refer to the photosphere as a layer of the Sun, it is really a part of the Sun's atmosphere. It is a very thin layer in comparison with the rest of the Sun, and is the only part of the Sun that we can actually see when looking at it from Earth, because it is where the light comes from. (But of course you should never look straight at the Sun!) In the photosphere, granulation, supergranulation, faculae, and sunspots are seen. Sunspots These are seen as dark spots in the photosphere that have extremely high magnetic fields. They usually show up in groups of two sets and have a lower temperature than their surroundings. This gives them a darkened appearance. To the right is a very close-up image of a sunspot.

Faculae Instead of appearing dark like sunspots, faculae show up as bright spots on the photosphere. This is because they are hotter than their surroundings. They aremagnetic also, but their magnetism is more concentrated than that of sunspots. The bright spots in the images to the right are faculae.

Granulation Granules are related to the convective zone. The granulation that shows up in the photosphere is a result of

the rising and falling of hot gas that takes place in the convective zone. The bubbles seen are the material that reaches the top of the convective zone--the photosphere. (For a better understanding and an image of granulation, check out the page on the convective zone.)

Supergranulation Supergranules are just larger version of granules. They have magnetic field "bunches" that flow within them. Supergranules look similar to granules, except that they are 35,000 kilometers across as opposed to 1,000 kilometers across.

The chromosphere is a narrow layer above the photosphere that raises in temperature with height. Normally, it can't be seen by the naked eye because the light from the photosphere of the Sun overpowers it. However, during a solar eclipse when this light is blocked out, it appears as a narrow, red ring around the Sun. The red from the chromosphere is also visible in prominences when they project from the Sun. The edge of the chromosphere is made up of spicules. These are narrow columns of material that ascend into the corona and last about 15 minutes. They are smaller eruptions, but eject material into the corona at high speeds. A lot of other solar events take place within the chromosphere also, such as solar flares and prominences. One of the features of the chromosphere is the chromospheric network. It outlines the supergranules (see the photosphere section for an explanation of those) and is present there because of the magnetic field bunches in the supergranules. The network makes a web pattern of magnetic field lines on the Sun.

This is an image of the chromosphere. You can see the chromospheric network and the reddish light it casts. One of the interesting things about the chromosphere is the way in which its temperature rises with height. Scientists believe that the source of heating deals with wave motions, specifically

magnetohydrodynamic waves. They are created when a magnetic field line is displaced. When the line tries to go back to its original shape, it begins to oscillate. This oscillating creates the waves that give up energy as they move through plasma, and causes the strange rise of temperature in the chromosphere.

The corona is the collection of gases around the Sun. It is extremely hot, much hotter than the surface of the Sun. Like the chromosphere, it can only be seen during a solar eclipse with the naked eye, as this is the only time that the light from the photosphere is blocked out enough so that anything else can be seen. It can also be observed with a coronagraph. Its white light is just scattered light from the photosphere, which is why its color is the same of that of the photosphere. Below is a very clear image of the corona around the Sun, taken during a solar eclipse. Next to it is an animation of a coronal mass ejection. (For an explanation of coronal mass ejections, check out the Solar Activity page.) (For an animation of some recent coronal mass ejections, see the Recent Solar Events page.)

Many different solar events are seen within the corona: Helmet Streamers Helmet streamers emit from the Sun in long pointed peaks. The usually arise from sunspots and active regions, so at the base of a helmet streamer one will often find a prominence. They form magnetic loops that trap material in them to form the streamers. The action of the solar wind forms the peaks that appear. Helmet streamers are seen coming off of the Sun in the picture below.

You can see the pointed "peaks" form the helmet streamers. An especially prominent one can be seen coming from the bottom of the Sun. Coronal Holes These are regions where the corona is dark. They are often found at the Sun's poles, and are associated with open magnetic field lines. Most of the solar wind originates from these holes in the corona.They can only be seen by looking at the Sun through an X-ray telescope.

Coronagraphs allow us to see the corona on the limb, but in order to see it on the disk, it has to be looked at through an X-ray telescope. X-rays allow us to see things with high temperatures, and since the photosphere is cool, the X-ray telescope blocks out the light from it so that the corona can be seen around the disk.

Here is an image of the Sun looked at through an X-ray telescope. The corona is visible all around the disk. Being able to look at the corona in this way shows that it consists of loops and arches of material that originate from the chromosphere and photosphere. Some of these loops are associated with solar flares.