What happens if you fell into the Sun: a NASA-sourced journey from photosphere to core
aakashgupta · x · 2026-11-13
A NASA-sourced explainer on what happens if you fell into the Sun:
- Photosphere: 5,500°C; the first 400 km would already vaporize a diamond (carbon sublimates 3,640°C). No solid surface, gas 4,000× less dense than sea-level air
- Convection zone: rising plasma forms 1,000 km granules lasting 20 minutes; 200,000 km deep, nearing 2 million degrees at its base
- Radiative zone: photons take 170,000 years (another NASA page says 1 million) to reach the top; once at the surface, light reaches Earth in 8 min 20 sec
- Core: 15 million degrees but only 276.5 W/m³—about an active compost heap, less than your body—vast scale makes a star
- Closest approach: Parker Solar Probe flew 3.8 million miles above the surface on Dec 24, 2024 at 430,000 mph, instruments at room temperature behind a 1,800°F shield
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