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Cutaway of sun, illustration
Illustration showing the layers of the Sun. In the centre is the dense core, where fusion reactions are generating energy. Above this is a relatively stable layer where energy is transferred outward by radiation. This in turn is covered by the active layer where the heat transfer is by convection to the surface. The visible surface of the Sun, the photosphere, is only about 400km deep. This is the region of sunspot formation, the bright and dark spots seen toward the left of this image. Above this is the chromosphere, a region inhabited by flares and prominences. Finally, there is the corona which stretches millions of kilometres out into space.
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