How Long Does a Photon Take to Travel From the Sun's Core to Its Surface?

💡 The Answer

• Photons zigzag through dense plasma, taking an average of 100,000 years to escape.
• The core's density is so high that a photon travels only millimeters before being absorbed.
• Once in the radiative zone, the photon's path is a random walk of absorption and re-emission.
• After reaching the convective zone, hot plasma carries energy upward much faster.
• A photon that escapes the Sun then reaches Earth in just over 8 minutes.