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Anatomy of the Sun    

10th September, 2021

Disclaimer: No Copyright infringement intended.

 

Context

  • Indian Scientists, along with international collaborators, have measured the magnetic field of an eruption from the Sun's atmosphere (by observing the weak thermal radio emission associated with the erupted plasma for the first time), offering a rare peek to the interior of the Sun.
  • The study of the phenomenon happening in the Sun's atmosphere or the solar corona provides insights into the inner workings of the Sun.

 

 

About

  • Image of the Sun with cut-away portion showing the solar interior with text descriptions of the regions as follows (from inner-most to outer-most):
  • The Sun's Core - Energy is generated via thermonuclear reactions creating extreme temperatures deep within the Sun's core.
  • The Radiative Zone - Energy moves slowly outward, taking more than 170,000 years to radiate through this layer of the Sun.
  • The Convection Zone - Energy continues to move toward the surface through convection currents of the heated and cooled gas.
  • The Chromosphere - This relatively thin layer of the Sun is sculpted by magnetic field lines that restrain the electrically charged solar plasma. Occasionally larger plasma features, called prominences, form and extend far into the very tenuous and hot corona, sometimes ejecting material away from the Sun.
  • The Corona - The ionized elements within the corona (or solar atmosphere) glow in the x-ray and extreme ultraviolet wavelengths. NASA instruments can image the Sun's corona at these higher energies since the photosphere is quite dim in this wavelength.
  • Coronal Streamers - The outward flowing plasma of the corona is shaped by magnetic field lines into tapered forms called coronal streamers, which extend millions of miles into space.

 

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1753491