THE SUN
Quick Facts:
• Type: Yellow Dwarf (G2V)
• Age: ~4.6 Billion Years
• Diameter: 1.39 Million km (109 times Earth)
• Mass: 330,000 times Earth (99.86% of Solar System mass)
• Core Temperature: ~15 Million °C
1. Introduction to the Solar Engine
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect sphere of hot
plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the
energy mainly as visible light, ultraviolet light, and infrared radiation. It is by far the
most important source of energy for life on Earth. Its diameter is about 1.39 million
kilometers, or 109 times that of Earth. Its mass is about 330,000 times that of Earth,
making up about 99.86% of the total mass of the Solar System. Roughly three-quarters of
the Sun's mass consists of hydrogen (~73%); the rest is mostly helium (~25%), with much
smaller quantities of heavier elements, including oxygen, carbon, neon, and iron.
The Sun is a G-type main-sequence star (G2V). As such, it is informally and not completely
accurately referred to as a yellow dwarf (its light is closer to white than yellow). It formed
approximately 4.6 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of matter within a
region of a large molecular cloud. Most of this matter gathered in the center, whereas the
rest flattened into an orbiting disk that became the Solar System. The central mass
became so hot and dense that it eventually initiated nuclear fusion in its core. It is
thought that almost all stars form by this process.
2. Internal Structure and Composition
The Sun is composed of multiple layers, each with distinct physical properties and roles
in the transportation of energy from the core to the outer space.
The Core
The core of the Sun extends from the center to about 20–25% of the solar radius. It has a
density of up to 150 g/cm³ (about 150 times the density of water) and a temperature of
close to 15 million kelvins. By contrast, the Sun's surface temperature is approximately
5,800 kelvins. Recent analysis of SOHO mission data favors a faster rotation rate in the
core than in the radiative zone above. Through most of the Sun's life, energy has been
produced by nuclear fusion in the core region through a series of steps called the p–p
(proton–proton) chain; this process converts hydrogen into helium. Only 0.8% of the
energy generated in the Sun comes from another sequence of fusion reactions called the
CNO cycle, though this proportion is expected to increase as the Sun becomes older.
The Radiative Zone
From the core out to about 0.7 solar radii, thermal radiation is the primary means of
energy transfer. The temperature drops from approximately 7 million kelvins to about 2
million kelvins at the top of this zone. In this zone, there is no thermal convection; while
the material grows cooler as altitude increases, this temperature gradient is less than the
adiabatic lapse rate and hence cannot drive convection. Heat is transferred by ions of
hydrogen and helium emitting photons, which travel only a brief distance before being
reabsorbed by other ions.
The Convection Zone
The Sun's convection zone extends from 0.7 solar radii to near the surface. In this layer,
the solar plasma is not dense enough or hot enough to transfer the heat energy of the
interior outward via radiation. Instead, the density of the plasma is low enough to allow
convective currents to develop and move the Sun's energy outward towards its surface.
Material heated at the tachocline (the boundary between the radiative zone and the
convection zone) picks up heat and expands, thereby reducing its density and allowing it
to rise. As a result, thermal convection develops as thermal cells carry the majority of the
heat outward.
3. The Solar Atmosphere
The parts of the Sun above the photosphere are referred to collectively as the solar
atmosphere. They can be viewed with telescopes operating across the electromagnetic
spectrum, from radio through visible light to gamma rays, and comprise five principal
zones: the temperature minimum, the chromosphere, the transition region, the corona,
and the heliosphere.
The Photosphere
The visible surface of the Sun, the photosphere, is the layer below which the Sun becomes
opaque to visible light. Photons produced in this layer escape the Sun through the
transparent solar atmosphere above it and become solar radiation, sunlight. The change
in opacity is due to the decreasing amount of H− ions, which absorb visible light easily.
Conversely, the visible light we see is produced as electrons react with hydrogen atoms to
produce H− ions.
The Chromosphere and Corona
Above the photosphere is the chromosphere, a region characterized by a red glow due to
the hydrogen alpha emission line. Above the chromosphere is the transition region,
where temperatures rise rapidly, leading into the corona. The corona is the extended
outer atmosphere of the Sun, with temperatures soaring to millions of degrees. The exact
mechanism of coronal heating remains one of the major unsolved problems in
astrophysics, though magnetic reconnection and magnetohydrodynamic waves are the
leading theories.
4. Solar Activity and the Magnetic Field
The Sun is a magnetically active star. It supports a strong, changing magnetic field that
varies year-to-year and reverses direction about every eleven years around solar
maximum. The Sun's magnetic field leads to many effects that are collectively called solar
activity, including sunspots on the surface of the Sun, solar flares, and variations in the
solar wind that carry material through the Solar System.
Sunspots are temporary phenomena on the Sun's photosphere that appear as spots
darker than the surrounding areas. They are regions of reduced surface temperature
caused by concentrations of magnetic field flux that inhibit convection. Coronal mass
ejections (CMEs) and solar flares are massive bursts of solar wind and magnetic fields
rising above the solar corona or being released into space. When directed at Earth, they
can cause geomagnetic storms, auroras, and disrupt satellite communications and power
grids.
5. Life Cycle and Future
The Sun has roughly enough nuclear fuel to stay much as it is now for another 5 billion
years. After that, it will swell to become a red giant. Before becoming a red giant, the
luminosity of the Sun will have doubled, and Earth will receive as much sunlight as
Venus receives today. Once the hydrogen at its core is exhausted, the core will contract
and heat up, causing the outer layers to expand dramatically. It will eventually shed its
outer layers to form a planetary nebula, leaving behind a dense, hot core known as a
white dwarf, which will slowly cool over trillions of years.