What is the Sun made of?
The sun is a massive ball of gas and plasma, but what precisely is it comprised of? According to NASA, the majority of the gas — around 92% — is hydrogen. In the sun's core, it is transformed into energy. The energy is released into the solar system as heat and light as it flows outward through the inner layers of the sun.
Gravitational forces generate enormous pressure and temperatures at the sun's core. The sun's temperature in this stratum is around 27 million degrees Fahrenheit (15 million degrees Celsius). Helium is formed when hydrogen atoms are squeezed and fused together. This is known as nuclear fusion. As the gases heat up, atoms disintegrate into charged particles, converting the gas to plasma.
The energy is transported into the radiative zone, largely in the form of gamma-ray photons and neutrinos. According to Sten Odenwald on NASA's Ask the Space Scientist, photons can bounce around at random in this zone for a few thousand to a million years before reaching the surface.
