What is the approximate starting depth of the Sun's convective zone?
Answer
400,000 kilometers beneath the visible surface
The solar interior is structured sequentially: core, radiative zone, and then the convective zone. For a star like the Sun, the radiative zone stretches out to about 70 percent of the solar radius. Consequently, the convective zone begins where the radiative zone ends and occupies the outer third of the star's interior. This transition point is quantified as approximately 400,000 kilometers beneath the photosphere, marking the onset of conditions where the temperature gradient necessitates energy transport via bulk fluid motion rather than slow photon diffusion.
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