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The Sun

The Sun is a yellow dwarf star (G2V), about 4.6 billion years old, and the dominant gravitational force in the Solar System. It has a diameter of roughly 1.4 million kilometers and contains around 99.8% of the Solar System’s mass. Nuclear fusion in its core converts hydrogen into helium, producing energy that warms the planets. Above the core lie the radiative and convective zones, followed by the visible photosphere (~5,500 °C), the chromosphere, and the much hotter corona (~2 million °C).

Source: science.nasa.gov

APODs including "The Sun"

A Horizon Rainbow in Paris

A Horizon Rainbow in Paris

27/03/2013

Comet Castle

Comet Castle

22/03/2013

M42: Inside the Orion Nebula

M42: Inside the Orion Nebula

20/03/2013

Comet PANSTARRS Just After Sunset

Comet PANSTARRS Just After Sunset

18/03/2013

CME, Comet and Planet Earth

CME, Comet and Planet Earth

15/03/2013

Clouds, Comet and Crescent Moon

Clouds, Comet and Crescent Moon

14/03/2013

PanSTARRS over Parkes

PanSTARRS over Parkes

09/03/2013

Coronal Rain on the Sun

Coronal Rain on the Sun
Video

26/02/2013

Chelyabinsk Meteor Flash

Chelyabinsk Meteor Flash

23/02/2013

Mercury on the Horizon

Mercury on the Horizon

19/02/2013

Solar System Portrait

Solar System Portrait

14/02/2013

Reflected Aurora Over Alaska

Reflected Aurora Over Alaska

12/02/2013

Comet Lemmon near the South Celestial Pole

Comet Lemmon near the South Celestial Pole

07/02/2013

Mars: Shadow at Point Lake

Mars: Shadow at Point Lake

05/02/2013

A Solar Ballet

A Solar Ballet
Video

15/01/2013

A Double Star Cluster

A Double Star Cluster

01/01/2013

Saturn's Rings from the Dark Side

Saturn's Rings from the Dark Side

31/12/2012

Zeta Oph: Runaway Star

Zeta Oph: Runaway Star

29/12/2012

Makemake of the Outer Solar System

Makemake of the Outer Solar System

26/12/2012

Yosemite Winter Night

Yosemite Winter Night

25/12/2012

Saturn at Night

Saturn at Night

22/12/2012

A Sun Pillar Over Sweden

A Sun Pillar Over Sweden

18/12/2012

Time-Lapse: A Total Solar Eclipse

Video preview available on open
Video

10/12/2012

Baku Moonrise

Baku Moonrise

08/12/2012

In the Center of Saturn's North Polar Vortex

In the Center of Saturn's North Polar Vortex

04/12/2012

A Quadruple Lunar Halo Over Spain

A Quadruple Lunar Halo Over Spain

03/12/2012

The Gegenschein Over Chile

The Gegenschein Over Chile

02/12/2012

Clouds in Cygnus

Clouds in Cygnus

30/11/2012

Jupiter and Io

Jupiter and Io

28/11/2012

Bright Jupiter in Taurus

Bright Jupiter in Taurus

27/11/2012