photosphericadj.
/ˌfəʊtəˈsfɛrɪk/, U.S. /ˌfoʊdəˈsfɛrɪk/ Astronomy.
Of or relating to the photosphere of the sun or other star.
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the world > the universe > sun > [adjective] > photosphere
photospheric1865
1865 Reader 7 Jan. 16/3 Photospheric clouds affecting forms reminding one of the flocculent mass of an incandescent metal, in suspension in a liquid.
1878 S. Newcomb Pop. Astron. iii. ii. 266 Above the photospheric layer [of the sun] lies an atmosphere of a very complex nature.
1923 Discovery Sept. 245/1 Its [sc. the corona's] spectrum consists in part of reflected photospheric light and in part of bright lines.
1970 Jrnl. Brit. Astron. Assoc. 80 205 The identification of chromospheric and photospheric structures in non-flaring regions to the field configuration.
1992 S. P. Maran Astron. & Astrophysics Encycl. 59/1 The resonance lines of three-times ionized carbon and silicon are present in VV Cephei. They are never observed..in the photospheric and chromospheric spectra of A-type stars.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1865