Sun and Terrestrial Planets, illustration - stock illustration

Schematic illustration showing the surface of the Sun and the terrestrial planets on the same scale. The Suns surface, or photosphere, is not smooth, but rather has a granulated appearance - the grains mark the boundaries of rising cells of gas, carrying heat to the surface by convection. Sunspots are also a prominent feature of the photosphere - they can be as big as the Earth. From left to right, in order of increasing distance from the Sun, are the inner planets Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. They are to scale relative to each other and to the Sun, but their distances from each other and the Sun are not to scale