The Sun appears to have been active for 4.6 billion years and has enough fuel to go on for another five billion years or so.

Core = innermost part of sun where nuclear fusion occurs Radiative zone = carries heat energy outward via radiation Convection Zone = carries heat energy outward via circulations of heat

PhotospherePhotosphere and Sunspots : the visible layer of sun’s atmosphere temperature of 6,000°C (11,000°F). Darker, cooler areas called sunspots appear on the photosphere, usually 4,000°C (7,000°F). They are intense magnetic fields (about 5,000 times greater than the Earth's magnetic field) that leave through one sunspot and re-enter through the other one. Chromosphere: invisible layer above photosphere, origination point of solar prominences (large arches of energy lasting for months) and solar flares (violent and abrupt explosions of energy) Corona: outermost layer of sun (the “crown”), invisible except in solar eclipses

Solar wind is the steady release of gas, electrons, visible light, ultraviolet light and X-rays that occurs during solar flares. When this radiation and particles reach the Earth's magnetic field, they interact with it at the poles to produce the auroras (bright lights in the sky as atmospheric gases get energized)auroras