Holly Shaftel The past decade has been the hottest ever recorded since global temperature records began 150 years ago. No wonder we have global warming. This is a false-color composite image made using infrared, red and green wavelengths. Our Sun is an enormous energy and light-producing sphere of glowing gases. By keeping an eye on Earth's ice from space, NASA satellites help us understand the global effects of climate change. and the convection zone (the outer-most layer of the solar interior extending from a depth of about 200,000 km to the visible surface where its motion is seen as granules and supergranules. The temperature drops below 3.5 million degrees Fahrenheit (2 million degrees Celsius) in the convective zone, where large bubbles of hot plasma (a soup of ionized atoms) move upwards. Video: Scientists combined an array of NASA satellite observations of Earth with data on human activities to map locations where freshwater is changing around the globe and why. and the corona (the Sun's outer atmosphere. the radiative zone (extends outward from the outer edge of the core to base of the convection zone, characterized by the method of energy transport - radiation). a transition region (a thin and very irregular layer of the Sun's atmosphere that separates the hot corona from the much cooler chromosphere). Global Transport of Australian Bushfire Smoke. The color bar reflects the quantity of carbon emitted. Sunspots are temporary phenomena on the Sun's photosphere that appear as spots darker than the surrounding areas. Randal Jackson Video: Lights of human activity shine in NASA's image of Earth at night. the chromosphere (an irregular layer above the photosphere where the temperature rises from 6000°C to about 20,000°C). This visualization shows carbon emissions from fires from January 1, 2003 through December 31, 2018. Video: NASA scientists release the first new global map of Earth at night since 2012. These temperatures sound quite hot, but how do they compare to other stars? The sun surface temperatures provide a wide range of electromagnetic sunlight wavelengths; some of which are harmful, and some are not. The amount of solar energy received by the Earth has followed the Sun’s natural 11-year cycle of small ups and downs with no net increase since the 1950s. The lighter/thinner lines show the yearly levels while the heavier/thicker lines show the 11-year average trends. the photosphere (the visible surface of the Sun). As the Moon moves around the Earth, different portions of the lunar surface are illuminated by sunlight, causing the phases of the Moon and a significant change in surface temperature. var gaJsHost=(("https:"==document.location.protocol)?"https://ssl.":"http://www. It is therefore extremely unlikely that the Sun has caused the observed global temperature warming trend over the past half-century. Now you see it, now you don't - Climate 365 graphic. To get the best experience possible, please download a compatible browser. Test your knowledge of sea level rise and its effect on global populations. The incoming sunlight travels through more When the sun shines strongly like that, surface temperatures on the earth This website is produced by the Earth Science Communications Team at, Site Editor: By comparing bee data to satellite imagery, NASA research scientist Wayne Esaias uses honey bees as tiny data collectors to understand how climate change is affecting pollination and plants. NASA's Aquarius mission is painting a global picture of our planet's salty waters. ). Get the latest updates on NASA missions, watch NASA TV live, and learn about our quest to reveal the unknown and benefit all humankind. Managing Editor: Only about 1000 watts per square meter make it this far. The photosphere contains some areas called “sunspots”. Salinity plays a major role in global ocean circulation and changes in salinity may impact regional and global climates. The temperature in the first layer of the sun’s atmosphere (the photosphere) is approximately 10,000 degrees fahrenheit (5,500 degrees celsius). Every summer, phytoplankton spread across the North Atlantic, with blooms spanning hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles. javascript is enabled. The surface of the Sun—the part we can see—is about 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit (5,500 degrees Celsius). Earth's ice cover is shrinking. Go back from Sun Surface Temperatures to the, Search this site for more information now. According to Albert Einstein, E=mc2 and every second the sun loses over 4 million tonnes per second. Temperatures … air because of its higher angle of incidence. And How hot is the sun?