Sun
Also known as the Sun
The Sun is the star located at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light and infrared radiation with 10% at ultraviolet energies. It is the main source of energy for life on Earth. The Sun has been an object of veneration in many cultures and a central subject of astronomical research since antiquity.
AI overview
The Sun is a massive, hot sphere of plasma at the center of our Solar System that produces energy through nuclear fusion in its core and radiates that energy as light and heat. It is the primary source of energy that makes life on Earth possible, and it has been important to human cultures and scientific study throughout history.
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Wikidata facts
- Area
- 6082000000000
- Distance from Earth
- 1
- Radius
- 1
- Mass
- 1
- Image
- The Sun in white light.jpg
- Perimeter
- 4371000
Show 16 more facts
- spectral class
- G2V
- Commons category
- Sun
- absolute magnitude
- 4.83
- metallicity
~40 min read
Article
41 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- General characteristics
- Shape
- Rotation
- Composition
- Structure
- Core
- Radiative zone
- Tachocline
- Convective zone
- Atmosphere
- Photosphere
- Chromosphere
- Corona
- Heliosphere
- Light, radiation, and observation
- Visible light and observation
- Exposure to the eye
- Other radiation
- Magnetic activity
- Sunspots
- Solar activity
- Coronal heating
- Life phases
- Formation
- Main sequence
- After core hydrogen exhaustion
- Gravitational domain and influence
- Overall location
- Celestial neighbourhood
- Galactic motion
- Observational history
- Early understanding
- Development of scientific understanding
- Solar space missions
- Religious aspects
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Further reading
- External links
The Sun is the star located at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light and infrared radiation with 10% at ultraviolet energies. It is the main source of energy for life on Earth. The Sun has been an object of veneration in many cultures and a central subject of astronomical research since antiquity.
The Sun orbits the Galactic Center at a distance of 24,000 to 28,000 light-years. Its mean distance from Earth is about 1.496×10 kilometres or about 8 light-minutes. The distance between the Sun and the Earth was used to define a unit of length called the astronomical unit (au), now defined to be 149.5978707×10 kilometres. It is the largest and most massive object in the Solar System; its diameter is about 1,391,400 km (864,600 mi), around 109 times that of Earth. The Sun's mass is around 330,000 times that of Earth, making up about 99.86% of the total mass of the Solar System. The mass of the Sun's surface layer, its photosphere, consists mostly of hydrogen (~73%) and helium (~25%), with much smaller quantities of heavier elements, including oxygen, carbon, neon, and iron.