Structure of the Sun

As we begin our study of the sun, watch this video showing the Sun through a solar telescope.
Astronomers use much larger solar telescopes to study the sun. One of my favorite solar telescopes is the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson, Arizona.
Watch the video Solar Space Telescopes to learn about the current state-of-the-art in solar observing.
Explore 15.1 The Structure and Composition of the Sun to learn about the layers and composition of the Sun, including its core, radiative zone, convective zone, photosphere, chromosphere, transition region, and corona, as well as its solar wind and the phenomenon of auroras on Earth.
Our reading describes the many layers of the sun. Thanks to our amazing solar space telescopes, we have incredible images and videos of many of these layers. Check out the NOVA clip Anatomy of the Sun to see some of this incredible footage.
The solar corona is almost like the atmosphere of the sun, and it is so faint that it can only really be seen here on earth during a solar eclipse (when most of the sun’s light is blocked by the moon passing in front of it). You saw this earlier in the course, but take another minute to check out the amazing video of a solar eclipse to see what the sun’s corona looks like to the unaided eye.
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin is considered a hero of astronomy for her foundational discovery about the nature of stars. She was also a pioneer for women in science. Watch the brief biography, Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin - Influential Women in Astronomy describing her achievements.
In Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin’s day, a solar spectrum would look something like this. Today, modern solar telescopes are able to take spectra of the sun that are so detailed, they have to be displayed vertically as well as horizontally as you can see here. Remember that each dark line in this spectrum corresponds to a specific atomic transition in an atom. By sorting out all of these “fingerprints” from different elements, astronomers can work out the precise composition of the sun.