Approximately how long can it take for a photon created in the Sun's core to reach the photosphere?
Answer
Tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of years
The energy generated in the stellar core originates as high-energy gamma-ray photons and kinetic energy. Before this energy can escape as visible light, it must traverse the star's dense internal layers, primarily the radiative zone. During this journey, the photon is repeatedly absorbed and then re-emitted by the plasma particles. This scattering process drastically slows down the net travel time. For a photon originating in the Sun's core, this arduous process of absorption and re-emission can take an extraordinarily long duration, measured in the range of tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years before finally reaching the surface layer, known as the photosphere.
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