The Transition Zone

The transition zone is the layer between the corona and the chromosphere. While not visible, during an eclipse it can appear as a pink line around the suns edge. The most notable phenomena that occur here are, predictibaly, transitions. While it is only 100-200 km wide, there are 3 notable transitions that occur here:

• The transition in temperature
  The temperature increases from 35,000 kelvin to 1 million kelvin. This occurs becuase helium becomes fully ionized, meaning the atoms are bare nuclei with no electrons.
• The transition in structure
  In the lower layers of the sun, gravity plays the biggest role, and distinctive layers are formed. Now, gravity has less of an effect, and the corona is one very large layer.
• The transition in movement
  In the lower layers, energy transfer is preformed through fluid dynamics and gases. In the corona, movement occurs mostly due to magnetic field, leading to an increase in solar weather phenomena, as magnetic flux has a stronger effect.

Select an image to the left for more information