Q: What is the relationship between the temperature of the radiative zone and the temperature of the photosphere zone surrounded by it?

Daniela H.

Nicholasville, Kentucky, USA

A: I think that this question must be referring to the sun rather than to the earth-atmosphere system. In this case, the radiative zone does not surround the photosphere, but rather, the photosphere surrounds the radiative zone with the convection zone in between. The radiative zone is directly outside of the core of the sun and high energetic photons generated in the core pass through the radiative zone by radiative transport. The photosphere is part of the sun's atmosphere and is that part visible from the earth as it is where the visible light is emitted. The temperature of the photosphere of the sun is estimated to be around 6000 Kelvins, much cooler than the temperature of the radiative zone, which varies from about 7,000,000 Kelvins near the core to about 2,000,000 Kelvins near the convective zone.