Q:
Is the Earth's core hotter than the sun?
A:
Quick Answer
New findings suggest that the Earth’s core may be hotter than the sun’s surface. However, the answer changes when one compares Earth's core temperature with the sun's core temperature.
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Full Answer
An upper layer of the sun’s atmosphere called the photosphere has a temperature of about 10,000 F. If one compares this temperature to the Earth’s core temperature, which is approximately 10,800 F, one finds that the Earth’s core is hotter than this layer of the sun’s surface.
However, the sun’s core temperature can be as high as 27 million F. If one compares this to Earth’s core temperature of 10,800 degrees Fahrenheit, then the sun’s core temperature is much hotter than that of the Earth’s core.
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