Definition
The photosphere corresponds to the apparent visible surface of a star and especially of the Sun. It is a very thin shell where most of the light a star radiates is produced. Its thickness is less than one thousandth of the star’s radius. Its temperature, which is typically between 3,000 and 40,000 K, is one of the fundamental parameters characterizing a stellar type.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this entry
Cite this entry
Rouan, D. (2014). Photosphere. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_4013-2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_4013-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics