the outside and going down into the Sun, the zones are the corona, chromosphere , photo-
sphere, convection zone, and finally the core. The first three zones are regarded as the Sun s
atmosphere. But since the Sun has no solid surface, it is hard to tell where the atmosphere
ends and the main body of the Sun begins.
The Sun soutermost layer begins about 10,000 miles above the visible surface and goes
outward for millions of miles. This is the only part of the Sun that can be seen during an
eclipse such as the one in February 1979. At any other time, the corona can he seen only
when special instruments are used on cameras and telescopes to shut out the glare of the
Sun s rays.
The corona is a brilliant, pearly white, filmy light, about as bright as the full Moon. Its
beautiful rays are a sensational sight during an eclipse. The corona s rays flash out in a
brilliant fan that has wispy spikelike rays near the Sun s north and south poles. The corona
is thickest at the Sun s equator .
The corona rays are made up of gases streaming outward at tremendous speeds and
reaching a temperature of more than 2 million degrees Fahrenheit. The rays of gas thin out
as they reach the space around the planets- By the time the Sun s corona rays reach the
Earth, they are weak and invisible.
24. The word "great" in line 4 is closest in meaning to
(A) dangerous
(B) unknown
(C) variable
(D) strong
25. With what topic is the second paragraph mainly concerned?
(A) How the Sun evolved
(B) The structure of the Sun
(C) Why scientists study the Sun
(D) The distance of the Sun from the planets
26. A1l of the following are Parts of the Sun s atmosphere EXCEPT the