The Sun is made of churning plasma, causing the surface to be made of complex, tangled magnetic fields.

The Sun releases energy in two ways: the usual flow of light that illuminates the Earth and makes life possible; but also in more violent and dramatic ways--it gives off bursts of light, particles, and magnetic fields that can have ripple effects far beyond Pluto. The Sun is made of super-hot ionized gas called plasma. The Sun's surface and atmosphere changes continually, driven by the magnetic forces generated by this constantly-moving plasma.The Sun's plasma is so hot that the most energetic charged particles can escape from the Sun's gravity and fly away, out into space, called the solar wind. The solar wind defines the region around the Sun known as the heliosphere.

The image shows solar granules as captured by the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope on May 11, 2021.

Topics: coronal mass ejection, electromagnetism, energy, ionization, magnetic fields, magnetic reconnection, plasma, solar cycle, solar flare, solar wind, space weather, sunspots

NGSS: PS1, PS2, ESS1, ESS2

Image Credits: NSO/AURA/NSF

Framework for Heliophysics Education

Big Idea 3.1

An up close image of the Sun

Have leaners investigate this heliophysics big idea with the guiding questions below.

  • Sun, 335 angstrom UV

    Introductory Learner (K-5)

    What is the Sun made of?

  • yellow image of the Sun

    Intermediate Learner (6-8)

    How do the magnetic fields of the Sun compare to the magnetic field of the Earth?

  • An image of the Sun shows a bright flash in the bottom right side where a solar flare erupts.

    Advanced Learner (9-12+)

    What are the properties of plasma and how do those properties make the Sun a giant sphere of massive energy?

Framework for heliophysics education

Heliophysics Resource Database

Use the guiding questions above to explore resources at each level or go directly to our database to search for resources by level, NGSS performance expectation, topic, and mission.

Resource Database
In this animated GIF, a small portion of the Sun appears green. A bright white flash suddenly appears on the edge of the Sun.
On Nov. 4, 2003, this solar flare saturated the X-ray detectors on several Sun-observing spacecraft.
NASA/ESA/SOHO