The light hitting your eyes began its journey thousands of years ago
In short: While it only takes eight minutes for sunlight to travel from the Sun's surface to Earth, the light itself is much older. This video explores the incredible time it takes for energy to escape the Sun's core through the concept of the random walk.
Dr. Sten Odenwald of NASA HEAT explains why light's journey from the Sun's core to its surface takes many thousands of years. This delay is caused by the random walk problem, a phenomenon that illustrates the complex path energy must take before it can finally escape into space.
Once light reaches the solar surface, it reaches Earth in a mere eight minutes. Understanding this distinction reveals the immense scale of the solar processes that power our world.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Sunlight is way older than you think - Sten Odenwald
- Also: "Sunlight is way older than you think" Video - NASA Science
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