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CHAPTER 26
THE SUN AND THE SOLAR SYSTEM
VOCABULARY
AURORA: A glow in the night sky produced in the upper atmosphere by particles from
the solar wind interacting with Earth’s magnetic field.
CHROMOSPHERE: The inner layer of the sun’s atmosphere, located above the
photosphere and below corona.
CORONA: The outermost layer of the sun’s atmosphere, located above the
chromosphere.
FUSION: The combining of the nuclei of lighter elements to form a heavier element.
GEOCENTRIC: A model of the solar system that has Earth at the center.
GRAVITATION: The force of attraction between any two objects with mass; the strength
of the attraction is proportional to their masses and inversely proportional to the
distance between them.
HELIOCENTRIC: A model of the solar system that has the sun at its center.
PHOTOSPHERE: The visible surface of the sun.
PLASMA: A state of matter consisting of charged particles – positively charged ions and
negatively charged electrons.
SOLAR WIND: A constant stream of electrically charged particles that are blown out
from the sun in all directions.
SUNSPOT: Dark areas on the sun’s photosphere that result from variations in the sun’s
magnetic field.
Using the Words from the Word Bank, Label the parts of the Sun
Word Bank
Chromosphere Convection
Zone
Radiation
Zone
Corona
Photosphere Core
1._______________ This is the center layer of the sun. This is where all the sun's heat
and light is made.
2. _____________ ________________ The heat and light move from the core into this
layer.
3. _____________ _____________ In this layer, the gases move like boiling water. This
moves them from the inner parts of the Sun to the outer part of
the sun that we see.
4. _______________________ This is the part of the sun we see. This layer gives off the
heat and light from the sun. The cooler parts of this layer make
sunspots.
5. _________________ This layer shoots out hot gases.
6. ____________________ This layer can only be seen during an eclipse. It is the
atmosphere around the sun.