How hot is the Sun?
According to NASA, the temperature of the sun ranges from roughly 27 million degrees Fahrenheit (15 million degrees Celsius) in the core to just around 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit (5,500 degrees Celsius) at the surface. According to NASA Space Place, the sun emits more energy every 1.5 millionths of a second than all people consume in an entire year. The sun's core reaches temperatures of roughly 27 million degrees Fahrenheit due to continuous nuclear fusion (15 million degrees C). The energy then radiates forth to the surface of the sun, the atmosphere, and beyond.
According to the educational website Study.com, temperatures in the radiative zone vary from 12 million degrees Fahrenheit (7 million degrees Celsius) at the core to roughly 4 million degrees Fahrenheit (2 million degrees Celsius) in the outer radiative zone. According to the scientific news website Phys.org, no heat convection occurs in this stratum. Heat is instead conveyed by thermal radiation, in which hydrogen and helium produce photons that travel a short distance before being reabsorbed by other ions. Light particles (photons) can travel through this layer for thousands of years before reaching the sun's surface.
According to Study.com, the sun's convective zone extends for 120,000 miles (200,000 kilometers) beyond the radiative zone. Temperatures in the convection zone are around 4 million degrees Fahrenheit (2 million degrees C). Like boiling water, plasma in this layer travels convectively, and bubbles of hot plasma convey heat to the sun's surface.
