chromosphere

American  

[kroh-muh-sfeer] / ˈkroʊ məˌsfɪər /

noun

Astronomy.

1. a scarlet, gaseous envelope surrounding the sun outside the photosphere, from which enormous quantities of hydrogen and other gases are erupted.

2. a gaseous envelope surrounding a star.

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chromosphere British  

/ ˈkrəʊməˌsfɪə, ˌkrəʊməˈsfɛrɪk /

noun

1. a gaseous layer of the sun's atmosphere extending from the photosphere to the corona and visible during a total eclipse of the sun

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chromosphere Scientific  

/ krō′mə-sfîr′ /

1. A glowing, transparent layer of gas surrounding the photosphere of a star. The Sun's chromosphere is several thousand kilometers thick, is composed mainly of hydrogen at temperatures of 6,000° to 20,000°K, and gives off reddish light.

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Other Word Forms

• chromospheric
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of chromosphere

First recorded in 1865–70; chromo- + -sphere

Example Sentences

And last month the agency released the first-ever full-disk images of the Sun in wavelengths ranging from 200 to 400 nanometres, saying they provided "insights into the intricate details of the Sun's photosphere and chromosphere".

From BBC • Jan. 5, 2024

The spacecraft is equipped with seven payloads to study the sun’s corona, chromosphere, photosphere and solar wind, the Indian Space Research Organization said.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 1, 2023

The hot, outer layers of its atmosphere known as the chromosphere appeared to be missing.

From Scientific American • Dec. 23, 2019

However, we now know that while this idea of layers—photosphere, chromosphere, transition region, corona—describes the big picture fairly well, the Sun’s atmosphere is really more complicated, with hot and cool regions intermixed.

From Textbooks • Oct. 13, 2016

The sun's original image is nearly 17 inches in diameter on the plate, and the solar chromosphere and prominences, together with the photosphere and facul�, are all recorded by monochromatic light.

From Astronomy: The Science of the Heavenly Bodies by Todd, David Peck