Final answer:
Nuclear fusion occurs in the Sun's core, where hydrogen nuclei are fused into helium, releasing energy as photons and neutrinos.
Step-by-step explanation:
Nuclear fusion, the process that powers the Sun, takes place deep within the core of the Sun. This is where hydrogen nuclei are fused into helium nuclei at an extreme temperature of about 14 million K. During this process, a small amount of mass is converted into a tremendous amount of energy, according to the mass-energy equivalence principle demonstrated by E=mc2. The core's density and temperature are high enough to allow for nuclear fusion, where protons can overcome their mutual repulsion and combine to form helium, releasing energy in the form of photons and neutrinos. Layers such as the photosphere, chromosphere, and corona are parts of the Sun's atmosphere and do not host the nuclear fusion process.