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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"

The Local Interstellar Cloud

The Local Interstellar Cloud

10/02/2002

Coronal Hole

Coronal Hole

07/02/2002

Comet LINEAR (WM1) Shines in the South

Comet LINEAR (WM1) Shines in the South

04/02/2002

EUVE Sky Map

EUVE Sky Map

31/01/2002

Ski Enceladus

Ski Enceladus

24/01/2002

Saturn and Vesta in Taurus

Saturn and Vesta in Taurus

18/01/2002

Red Auroral Corona

Red Auroral Corona

15/01/2002

Sun Halo at Winter Solstice

Sun Halo at Winter Solstice

14/01/2002

Sunbather

Sunbather

11/01/2002

Blue Flash

Blue Flash

09/01/2002

Thackeray's Globules

Thackeray's Globules

08/01/2002

Partial Eclipse, Cloudy Day

Partial Eclipse, Cloudy Day

21/12/2001

Jupiter and Saturn Pas de Deux

Jupiter and Saturn Pas de Deux

20/12/2001

Venusian Half-Shell

Venusian Half-Shell

11/12/2001

The Belt of Venus

The Belt of Venus

09/12/2001

Comet Linear (WM1) Brightens

Comet Linear (WM1) Brightens

06/12/2001

A Sky Filled with Leonids

A Sky Filled with Leonids

05/12/2001

Neptune's Great Dark Spot: Gone But Not Forgotten

Neptune's Great Dark Spot: Gone But Not Forgotten

01/12/2001

Coronal Inflow

Coronal Inflow

29/11/2001

Mariner's Mercury

Mariner's Mercury

24/11/2001

Auroras Over Both Earth Poles

Auroras Over Both Earth Poles

14/11/2001

SOHO Comet 367: Sungrazer

SOHO Comet 367: Sungrazer

09/11/2001

Under A Sunspot

Under A Sunspot

08/11/2001

Bright Stars, Dim Galaxy

Bright Stars, Dim Galaxy

03/11/2001

Anticrepuscular Rays Over Colorado

Anticrepuscular Rays Over Colorado

30/10/2001

NGC 2346: A Butterfly-Shaped Planetary Nebula

NGC 2346: A Butterfly-Shaped Planetary Nebula

28/10/2001

Galileo Demonstrates the Telescope

Galileo Demonstrates the Telescope

14/10/2001

A Yukon Aurora

A Yukon Aurora

08/10/2001

A Flock of Stars

A Flock of Stars

05/10/2001

The Iron Sun

The Iron Sun

29/09/2001