Q:
What Does the Sun Look Like?
A:
Quick Answer
The appearance of the sun varies depending on the area of examination: from afar, the sun appears as a large, glowing globe surrounded by fields of rising vapors. Upon closer inspection, however, the sun appears much like the surface of the moon. It contains rugged terrain and deep crater-like holes, and it is surrounded by a liquefied layer of plasma.
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The outermost layer of the sun is the photosphere: this layer is comprised of a thick, liquid-like plasma that blankets the hard ground on the sun's actual surface. The visible layer of the sun is comprised of penumbral filaments, which create a rocky and uneven appearance.
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