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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 Fire Rainbow Over New Jersey

A Fire Rainbow Over New Jersey

10/06/2008

Saturn's Rings from the Other Side

Saturn's Rings from the Other Side

09/06/2008

Two-Armed Spiral Milky Way

Two-Armed Spiral Milky Way

06/06/2008

A Twisted Solar Eruptive Prominence

A Twisted Solar Eruptive Prominence

01/06/2008

A View to the Sunset

A View to the Sunset

31/05/2008

A Fog Bow Over Ocean Beach

A Fog Bow Over Ocean Beach

29/05/2008

Circles in the Sky

Circles in the Sky

16/05/2008

Retrograde Mars

Retrograde Mars

11/05/2008

Moon Meets Mercury

Moon Meets Mercury

09/05/2008

The Gegenschein Over Chile

The Gegenschein Over Chile

07/05/2008

An Antarctic Total Solar Eclipse

An Antarctic Total Solar Eclipse

04/05/2008

The Giants of Omega Centauri

The Giants of Omega Centauri

01/05/2008

Star Forming Region NGC 3582

Star Forming Region NGC 3582

28/04/2008

Messier 63: The Sunflower Galaxy

Messier 63: The Sunflower Galaxy

17/04/2008

Sunset: Planet Earth

Sunset: Planet Earth

20/03/2008

Moon over Byzantium

Moon over Byzantium

15/03/2008

An Avalanche on Mars

An Avalanche on Mars

11/03/2008

CMBR Dipole: Speeding Through the Universe

CMBR Dipole: Speeding Through the Universe

09/03/2008

M1: The Crab Nebula from Hubble

M1: The Crab Nebula from Hubble

17/02/2008

Young Stars in the Rho Ophiuchi Cloud

Young Stars in the Rho Ophiuchi Cloud

15/02/2008

Echoes from RS Pup

Echoes from RS Pup

12/02/2008

Sunspot in the Old Solar Cycle

Sunspot in the Old Solar Cycle

06/02/2008

A Spider Shaped Crater on Mercury

A Spider Shaped Crater on Mercury

04/02/2008

Venus and Jupiter in Morning Skies

Venus and Jupiter in Morning Skies

02/02/2008

A Solar Eclipse Painting from the 1700s

A Solar Eclipse Painting from the 1700s

28/01/2008

Mercury on the Horizon

Mercury on the Horizon

27/01/2008

Mercury's Horizon from MESSENGER

Mercury's Horizon from MESSENGER

21/01/2008

MESSENGER Passes Mercury

MESSENGER Passes Mercury

16/01/2008

Mercury Chases the Sunset

Mercury Chases the Sunset

12/01/2008

Active Galaxy Centaurus A

Active Galaxy Centaurus A

10/01/2008