And a trick question to follow - How long does it take for light to travel from the centre of the Sun to Earth? It's just over 8 minutes from when the photons leave the sun's surface to arrive at Earth, but photons formed in the centre of the Sun - and changing direction every time it bumps into a charged particle - would take between 10,000 and 170,000 years to chust get to the surface. So the answer is - at least 10,000 years and 8 minutes and 18 seconds Approximately.