The Sun

An infographic about the Sun published on the Big Bear Solar Observatory website

The Sun is composed of gas, about 75% of Hydrogen (H) and the rest mostly Helium (He), and generates its energy by nuclear fusion of H into He.

Nuclear reactions take place in the solar core where the temperature is about 13 million degrees. The Sun produces as much energy as 1 trillion megaton bombs every second. 620 million metric tons of H are fused each second. Energy generated in the core travels outwards and reaches the surface where photons are free to escape to the interplanetary medium.

The Sun is a magnetically active object. Magnetic field is generated by the motion of conductive plasma. Field lines get twisted by the different rotation rates of the Sun and finally emerge through the surface whilst interacting wit the convective plasma.