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photosphere
[ foh-tuh-sfeer ]
noun
- a sphere of light or radiance.
- Astronomy. the luminous visible surface of the sun, being a shallow layer of strongly ionized gases.
photosphere
/ ˌfəʊtəʊˈsfɛrɪk; ˈfəʊtəʊˌsfɪə /
noun
- the visible surface of the sun, several hundred kilometres thick
photosphere
/ fō′tə-sfîr′ /
- The lowest visible layer of a star, lying beneath the chromosphere and the corona. Stars are made entirely of gas and thus have no surface per se, but the gas beneath the photosphere is opaque, so the photosphere acts as their effective visible surface; it is also the boundary from which the Sun's diameter is measured. The Sun's photosphere is a very thin layer made up of numerous granules (transient convective cells) where hot gases rise and give off light and heat. The photosphere of the Sun has a temperature of around 6,000°K and is the region in which sunspot activity is located.
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Derived Forms
- photospheric, adjective
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Other Words From
- pho·to·spher·ic [foh-t, uh, -, sfer, -ik, -, sfeer, -], adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of photosphere1
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Example Sentences
Below the photosphere lies the vast unknown mass of the unseen solar realm.
The dazzling surface of this globe is called a photosphere (light sphere).
The part of the Sun that we see is its luminous surface, or photosphere.
Her hopes mingled with the sunshine in an ideal photosphere which surrounded her as she bounded along against the soft south wind.
In the case of the sun this cloud layer is always present and is that part which we have learned to call the photosphere.
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