Back to Glossary

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 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

Moon Shadow Sequence

Moon Shadow Sequence

16/11/2012

Solar Eclipse over Queensland

Solar Eclipse over Queensland

15/11/2012

A Solar Eclipse Quilt

A Solar Eclipse Quilt

13/11/2012

Baily's Beads near Solar Eclipse Totality

Baily's Beads near Solar Eclipse Totality

11/11/2012

The Black Hole in the Milky Way

The Black Hole in the Milky Way

02/11/2012

A Halo for NGC 6164

A Halo for NGC 6164

27/10/2012

The Medusa Nebula

The Medusa Nebula

25/10/2012

A View from Next Door

A View from Next Door

18/10/2012

Black Sun and Inverted Starfield

Black Sun and Inverted Starfield

15/10/2012

At the Heart of Orion

At the Heart of Orion

06/10/2012

Introducing Comet ISON

Introducing Comet ISON

01/10/2012

Equinox: The Sun from Solstice to Solstice

Equinox: The Sun from Solstice to Solstice

23/09/2012

Austrian Analemma

Austrian Analemma

22/09/2012

September's Aurora

September's Aurora

21/09/2012