photosphere

noun

pho·​to·​sphere ˈfō-tə-ˌsfir 

1

: a sphere of light or radiance

2

: the luminous surface layer of the sun or a star

photospheric

ˌfō-tə-ˈsfir-ik 

-ˈsfer-

adjective

Examples of photosphere in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The imagery and time-lapse video reveal an unprecedented look at the sun’s complex and dynamic photosphere, the visible surface of the sun that exists as a thin layer of atmosphere shaped by magnetic fields and currents of fluid plasma. — Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 5 Aug. 2026

To see them in the solar photosphere, the team pushed DKIST to its limits, zooming in on the outskirts of a sunspot and revealing dozens. — Lee Billings, Scientific American, 5 Aug. 2026

Only when the photosphere is blocked by the moon — totality — can the corona be seen. — Jamie Carter, Space.com, 3 Aug. 2026

What happens is that its internal density and temperature profile changes, so that greater densities and temperatures concentrate in the core, leading to a more differentiated star with a photosphere on the outside, a radiative zone internally, and then a fusion zone in the core. — Big Think, 24 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

photo- + -sphere; in sense 2 probably as translation of German Lichtatmosphäre

First Known Use

1664, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for photosphere

• atmosphere
• biosphere
• centromere
• chemosphere
• chromosphere
• hemisphere
• hydrosphere
• lithosphere
• mesosphere
• microsphere
• miserere
• mountaineer

Kids Definition

photosphere

noun

pho·​to·​sphere ˈfōt-ə-ˌsfi(ə)r 

: the shining surface of the sun or a star

photospheric

ˌfōt-ə-ˈsfir-ik 

-ˈsfer-

adjective