1. The Sun, our favorite star!
The Sun is the basis for all of our knowledge of stars. Why?
WE CAN SEE IT REALLY WELL.

2. Kelvin Temperature Scale
degree Celsius
degree Fahrenheit
symbol K °C °F
boiling point of water
373.15
100.
212.
melting point of ice
273.15 0.
32.
absolute zero
Humans
310 37
98.6
Sun
5800
5527
9980

3. Overview of Solar Structure (aka, our Sun as a jawbreaker)
The Sun is made of mostly HYDROGEN and HELIUM
Main Parts:
Corona
Chromosphere
Photosphere
Convection Zone
Radiative Zone
Core

4. The Core (15, 000,000K) + Energy Fusion takes place here. p n 4H 1He
Fusion Animation

5. The Radiative Zone (7,000,000 K) Ionized gas
Here, photons bounce around in a “random walk”
Eventually they make it out of the radiative zone, but it takes a long, long time!
Ionized gas

6. The Convective Zone (2,000,000K)
The Convective Zone is the layer just under the photosphere. Here energy moves by convection.
Photosphere
Convective “cells”:
As seen from the top, these are the granules we see in the photosphere

7. Layers of the Sun Song!