Light from the Sun takes about 8 minutes and 20 seconds to reach Earth on average. This time is calculated by dividing the average distance from the Sun to Earth (around 150 million kilometers) by the speed of light (approximately 300,000 kilometers per second). Depending on Earth's slightly elliptical orbit, this time can vary slightly from about 8 minutes 10 seconds to 8 minutes 27 seconds. Additionally, the light we see is actually quite ancient because photons are created deep inside the Sun and can take thousands or even tens of thousands of years to travel from the Sun's core to its surface before beginning their roughly 8-minute journey to Earth. So, the simple answer is 8 minutes and 20 seconds for light to travel from the Sun's surface to Earth, but the full story involves much longer times for the light to originate inside the Sun itself.
