Kids Research Express

Regions of the Sun include the core, radiation zone, convection zone, and photosphere. Gases in the core are about 150 times as dense as water and reach temperatures as high as 16 million degrees C (29 million degrees F). The Sun’s energy is produced in the core through nuclear fusion of hydrogen atoms into helium. In the radiation zone, heat flows outward through gases that are about as dense as water. The radiation zone is cooler than the core, about 2.5 million degrees C (4.5 million degrees F). In the convection zone, churning motions of the gases carry the Sun’s energy further outward. The convection zone is slightly cooler, about 2 million degrees C (3.6 million degrees F), and less dense, about one-tenth as dense as water. The photosphere is much cooler, about 5500° C (10,000° F) and much less dense, about one-millionth that of water. The turbulence of this region is visible from earth in the form of sunspots, solar flares, and small patches of gas called granules.

The material in the Sun farther out from the center than the photosphere makes up the Sun’s atmosphere. The atmosphere extends far beyond the disk we see in the sky. Very diffuse solar gases extend all the way to Earth and beyond. The solar atmosphere consists of, from the innermost part outward, the photosphere, the chromosphere, the corona, and the expanding outer layers of the corona that astronomers call the solar wind. The photosphere is the visible part of the Sun. We look right through the chromosphere, the corona, and the solar wind, just as we see through Earth’s atmosphere at night. The chromosphere and corona are visible during total solar eclipses, when the Moon lines up between the Sun and Earth, completely blocking the main disk of the Sun from view. The thin chromosphere becomes visible a few seconds before or after a solar eclipse, creating a narrow pink, rose, or ruby-colored band at the edge of the Sun. For up to eight minutes during an eclipse, the corona is visib

Mercury (planet), one of the planets in the solar system . Mercury orbits closest to the Sun of all the planets, at an average distance of approximately 58 million km (about 36 million mi). The planet’s diameter is 4,879 km (3,032 mi), and its volume and mass are about one-eighteenth that of Earth . Mercury’s mean density is approximately equal to that of Earth and is higher than that of any of the other planets. The force of gravity on the planet's surface is about one-third of that on Earth's surface or about twice the surface gravity on the Moon . Mercury revolves once about the Sun every 88 days. Radar observations of the planet show that it rotates only once every 58.7 days, two-thirds of its period of revolution. Only three of the planet’s days, therefore, occur during every two of its years. The side facing the Sun gets very hot, while the side facing away quickly cools to frigid temperatures. The point in Mercury's orbit at which the planet is closest to the Sun

Venus (planet), one of the planets in the solar system , the second in distance from the Sun . Except for the Sun and the Moon , Venus is the brightest object in the sky. The planet is called the morning star when it appears in the east at sunrise, and the evening star when it is in the west at sunset. In ancient times the evening star was called Hesperus and the morning star Phosphorus or Lucifer. Because of the distances of the orbits of Venus and Earth from the Sun, Venus is never visible more than three hours before sunrise or three hours after sunset. When viewed through a telescope, the planet exhibits phases like the Moon. Maximum brilliance (a stellar magnitude of -4.4, 15 times as bright as the brightest star) is seen in the crescent phase when Venus is closer to Earth. Venus’s full phase appears smaller and dimmer because it occurs when the planet is on the far side of the Sun from Earth. The phases and positions of Venus in the sky repeat every 1.6 years (see Time; Year). T

Venus's complete cloud cover and deep atmosphere make it difficult to study from Earth. Most knowledge of the planet has been obtained through the use of space vehicles, particularly those carrying probes that descend through the atmosphere. The first flyby was that of Mariner 2, launched by the United States in 1962, followed by Mariner 5 in 1967 and Mariner 10 in 1974. The former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics developed several entry probes, some combined with flybys or orbiters: Venera 4 and 5 (1967), 6 (1969), 7 (1970), 8 (1972), 9 and 10 (1975), 11 and 12 (1978), 13 and 14 (1981), and 15 and 16 (1983); Vega 1 and 2, sent toward Halley's comet in 1984, also flew by Venus and released descent capsules. Several of these probes successfully reached the planet's surface. The United States sent two Pioneer Venus missions in 1978. Pioneer Venus 2 sent four probes to the surface, while the remaining craft explored the upper atmosphere. Pioneer Venus 1, an orbiter, mea

The atmosphere of the planet consists of 97 percent carbon dioxide and is so thick that the surface pressure is 96 bars (compared with 1 bar on Earth). The surface temperature on Venus varies little from place to place and is extremely hot, about 462°C (736 K/864°F). The high surface temperature is explained by an intense greenhouse effect . Even though only a small percentage of the solar energy that falls on Venus reaches the surface, the planet stays hot because the thick atmosphere prevents the energy from escaping. That nearly all of Venus's atmosphere is carbon dioxide is not as strange as it might seem; in fact, the crust of Earth contains almost as much carbon dioxide chemically bound in the form of limestone. About 3 percent of the Venusian atmosphere is nitrogen gas. By contrast, 78 percent of Earth's atmosphere is nitrogen . Water and water vapor are extremely rare on Venus. Many scientists argue that Venus, being closer to the Sun, was subjected to a so-called ru

Venus rotates very slowly on its axis, and the direction is retrograde (opposite to that of Earth). Curiously, the periods of Venus's orbit and rotation cause the same side of the planet to always face Earth when the two planets are closest. At such times, the side facing Earth can be viewed and mapped by Earth-based radar. In contrast to the very large antenna needed for Earth-based radar mapping of Venus, a modest instrument on Pioneer Venus 1 was able to conduct a nearly global survey. Combined with data from the Soviet probes, the Magellan orbiter, and Earth-based radar, the survey shows that the surface of Venus is primarily a rolling plain interrupted by two continent-sized highland areas, which have been named Ishtar Terra and Aphrodite Terra after two manifestations of the goddess Venus. Aphrodite Terra, although not as high as Ishtar Terra, extends nearly halfway around the equatorial region; it occupies the planet's far side as viewed from Earth at closest approach.