The photosphere is a thin layer of gas from which most sunlight escapes. The temperature of this layer is about 6000 Kelvin. Features seen in the photosphere are sunspots and granulation. A granule lasts for about 10 minutes before it merges with their neighbors. The chromosphere is a layer of the Sun above the photosphere which glows only in some colors.
Features seen in the chromosphere are prominences, filaments, flares, and plages.
Prominences are loops of chromospheric gas held up by the Sun's magnetic field. They appear as pinkish purple or red prominences when seen above the limb of the solar disk. When the prominences are seen in front of the solar disk, they look dark and are called filaments. Flares are sudden eruptions of high-energy particles which reach Earth and can disrupt communications. Flares occur near sunspots groups and are caused by tangled magnetic field.