photosphere
Sign in to savethumb|alt=A miasma of plasma|Sun's surface in false color|228x228px The photosphere is a star's outer shell from which light is radiated. It extends into a star's surface until the plasma becomes opaque, equivalent to an optical depth of approximately , or equivalently, a depth from which 50% of light will escape without being scattered.
AI overview
The photosphere is the visible outer layer of a star where light is emitted into space. It extends from a star's surface to the point where the plasma becomes too dense for light to escape, making it the boundary between what we can see and what lies hidden beneath.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Article
6 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Sun's photosphere
- Photospheric phenomena
- Notes
- References
- External links
thumb|alt=A miasma of plasma|Sun's surface in false color|228x228px The photosphere is a star's outer shell from which light is radiated. It extends into a star's surface until the plasma becomes opaque, equivalent to an optical depth of approximately , or equivalently, a depth from which 50% of light will escape without being scattered.
Stars, except perhaps neutron stars, have no solid or liquid surface. Therefore, the photosphere is typically used to describe the Sun's or another star's visual surface.