When the observer looks up at the zenith, he or she will see the south celestial pole directly overhead. As the observer moves away from the south pole, the altitude of the south celestial pole will be equal to the observer's south latitude. The outer layers of the Sun in order of increasing distance from the center are the photosphere, the chromosphere, the corona, and the solar wind. 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.