Astrophysics (Index)About

Sun

(star at center of solar system)

The Sun is the star around which the solar system revolves.

Compared to other stars:

The study of stars reveals information about the Sun's past and future, and the study of the Sun reveals characteristics that other stars are presumed to have. Aside from evidence for basic stellar structure the Sun shows granulation, constantly changing light and dark spots (called granules) on the order of 1500 km in diameter, and supergranulation, larger (5000-30000 km) slower changing regions, the latter assumed to reflect the regions of convection.

Early main sequence Sun (ZAMS and soon after):

Future Sun:

Solar values often used as physical units:

Pedantic note on capitalization: I find a capitalization rule stating "Sun" is capitalized when it used as the name of a star, e.g., within a list of stars. For this astrophysics site, I make it easy on myself, interpreting this rule broadly and virtually always capitalizing the word: I only use "sun" when the word is used in the sense of "sunshine", such as "I like to be out in the sun". My practice does not follow Wikipedia and much astronomical literature, which generally do not capitalize the word.


(star,solar system)
Further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granule_(solar_physics)
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009IAUS..258..395G/abstract
http://www.astro.sunysb.edu/fwalter/AST341/sun1.pdf
http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~pogge/Lectures/vistas97.html
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/astronomy/chapter/the-structure-and-composition-of-the-sun/
http://www.igpp.ucla.edu/public/rwalker/ESS200C_2007_winter/The%20Sun.pdf
https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/sunfact.html
RedshiftParsecs
/Distance
Lightyears
/Lookback Years
  
~01AU~0lySun

Referenced by pages:
10199 Chariklo
2010 TK7
47 Tucanae (47 Tuc)
67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P)
775 AD event
A-type star (A)
AB Pictoris (AB Pic)
aberration
absolute magnitude (M)
abundances
Achernar
AD Leonis (AD Leo)
Aditya-L1
Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE)
AGN corona
Air-SPEC
airglow
airmass
Alfvén wave (AW)
Algol (Beta Per)
Alpha Centauri (α Centauri)
ANAIS-112
antenna temperature
apodization
apparent magnitude (m)
apsis
Arcturus
ARIEL
ASPIRE
asteroid
asteroid belt
asteroseismology
astrometry
astronomical quantities
astronomical symbol
astronomical unit (AU)
atmospheric tide
atmospheric window
AU Microscopii (AU Mic)
B-type star (B)
Barnard's Star
BCool
BepiColombo
beta (β)
Beta Centauri
Betelgeuse
Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO)
binding energy
black body (BB)
bolometric correction
bow shock
bracket notation
brown dwarf (BD)
C/2014 UN271
CAESAR
calcium (Ca)
Canopus
Capella
carbon star (C)
carbonaceous chondrite (C chondrite)
Cassini
Catalog of Circumpolar Stars (Groombridge)
celestial equator
celestial reference frame
celestial sphere
CHIPS
chondrite
chromosphere
chromospheric activity index
circle of latitude
circumstellar disk
circumstellar envelope (CSE)
CLE
CMB anisotropies
comet
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9
compact object (CO)
continuous viewing zone (CVZ)
convection
convection zone
corona
coronagraph
coronal hole
coronal loop
coronal mass ejection (CME)
Coronal Solar Magnetism Observatory (COSMO)
COSIE
COSINE-100
cosmic rays (CR)
CTIS
CubeSat
CubIXSS
current sheet
DAMA/LIBRA
dark matter detector
Darwin
Deep Space 1 (DS1)
Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (DRAO)
drogue chute
dynamo
Earth
earthshine
ecliptic
ecliptic coordinate system
Einstein delay
electron pressure
energy
ephemeris
epicycle
epoch
epoch B1950.0
Epsilon Eridani (ε Eridani)
Epsilon Indi (ε Indi)
equinox
ESA Vigil
escape velocity (Ve)
ESIS
Euclid
extra-solar planet
extreme ultraviolet (EUV)
extremely metal poor galaxy (XMPG)
F-type star (F)
facula
faint young Sun paradox
FGK star
field star
FINESSE
fixed star
flux rope
foe
frame of reference
Fraunhofer lines
free streaming
G band (G)
G-type star (G)
Gaia
galactic bulge
galactic coordinate system (GCS)
galactic tide
gauss (G)
Genesis
geomagnetic storm
giant planet
giant star
Giclas 29-38 (G 29-38)
globular cluster (GC)
Gould's Belt
grand tack hypothesis
gravitational collapse
gravitational potential well
gravity
gravity assist
gravity wave
greenhouse effect
GYRE
gyrochronology
H-alpha (Ha)
H-R diagram (HRD)
habitability
habitable zone (HZ)
halo orbit
HD 133131
heliocentric system
heliometer
heliopause
heliosphere
helium rain
High Altitude Observatory (HAO)
High Energy Transient Explorer (HETE)
Hill radius
Hills Cloud
Hipparchus
hot Jupiter (HJ)
HR 8799
Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
Hulse-Taylor Binary (PSR B1913+16)
hypergiant
hypervelocity star (HVS)
IMAP
insolation
intensity
International Astronomical Union (IAU)
International Celestial Reference System (ICRS)
International Cometary Explorer (ICE)
International Space Station (ISS)
interplanetary medium (IPM)
interstellar magnetic field (ISMF)
interstellar medium (ISM)
ionosphere
IRAS 13224-3809
iron (Fe)
J1407
J2
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
jansky (Jy)
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
Julian date (JD)
Jupiter
K2
Kapteyn's Star
KATRIN
kelvin (K)
Kelvin-Helmholtz mechanism (KH mechanism)
Kepler Telescope
Kepler's laws
Lacaille 9352
Lagrangian point
Lalande 21185
Lambda Boötis star (λ Boo)
LHS 1140
light cone
limb
limb darkening
lithium (Li)
Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC)
local standard of rest (LSR)
long-period comet
Lorentz force
low Earth orbit (LEO)
low mass star (LMS)
Lucy
luminosity class
luminous blue variable (LBV)
luminous infrared galaxy (LIRG)
lunar water
Luyten 726-8
Lyot coronagraph (CLC)
Lyot stop
M-type star (M)
magnetic arcade
magnetic dipole radiation
magnetic field
magnetic reconnection
magnetic switchback
magnetometer
magnetosphere
magnitude
main sequence star (MS)
main-sequence lifetime (MS lifetime)
Mars
Mars 2020
Mars crosser (MC)
mass extinction
mass loss
mass-radius relation
mass-to-light ratio (M/L)
Mercury
metallic hydrogen
metallicity (Z)
meteorite
Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein effect (MSW effect)
Milky Way (MW)
MMRTG
moment of inertia factor
moon
Moreton wave
MWC 758
National Solar Observatory (NSO)
natural astronomical telescopes
near-Earth object (NEO)
nebula
nebular hypothesis
NEO Surveyor
neutrino (ν)
neutrino observatory
neutron star (NS)
New Horizons (NF1)
normal mode
O-type star (O)
O5 spectral type (O5)
obliquity
occulting bar
Oort Cloud
Oort constants
opposition
orbital element
orbital inclination
orbital period
orbital speed
Orion
orrery
OSO 7
OSO 8
Oumuamua
paleomagnetism
parallax
Parker Solar Probe (PSP)
Parker wind
parsec (pc)
PG 1159 star
phase angle
photosphere
physical field
Planck
planet
planetary science
plasma
plasma wave
PLATO
point source
Population I (Pop I)
Population II (Pop II)
Population III (Pop III)
potential energy (PE)
Poynting-Robertson effect
precession of the equinoxes
presolar grain
primary
Procyon
proper motion (PM)
Psyche
pulsar timing array (PTA)
PUNCH
quake
quantum efficiency (QE)
quantum system
quantum tunneling
quasar (QSO)
quasi-satellite
radiance
radiation zone
radio source (RS)
radio star
random walk
Rayleigh scattering
RECONS
red clump (RC)
retrograde orbit
Rigel
right ascension (RA)
Rosetta
Ross 248
rotation period
RR Lyrae variable (RRL)
Satech-01
Saturn
Scholz's Star
Schuster-Schwarzschild model
Schwarzschild radius (RS)
secular
seismic waves
Shapiro delay
sidereal
signatures of formation
Sirius
slitless spectrograph
SMART-1
sodium (Na)
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)
solar apex
solar circle
solar constant
solar day
Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)
solar eclipse
solar energetic particle (SEP)
solar eruption
solar flare
solar luminosity (LSun)
solar mass (MSun)
Solar Maximum Mission (SMM)
solar nebula
solar neutrino
solar neutrino unit (SNU)
Solar Orbiter (SolO)
solar particle
solar physics
solar storm
solar system
solar system object (SSO)
solar telescope
solar time
solar wind
solstice
Space Launch System (SLS)
space weather
SPARTAN
spectral class
spectral type
spectropolarimetry
spicule
spiral arm
standard gravitational parameter (μ)
standard model of a flare
star
star system
Stardust
STARE
stellar activity
stellar atmosphere
stellar core
stellar demographics
stellar flare
stellar nucleus
stellar population
stellar radius determination
stellar rotation
stellar structure
stellar wind
STEREO
subdwarf (sd)
subgiant
substellar point
Sun surface features
sunspot
supercritical fluid (SCF)
supergiant
supernova (SN)
surface abundance
surface brightness (SB)
SWFO-L1
SWMF
synodic period
T Tauri
T4 Automated Photometric Telescope (T4 APT)
tau neutrino (ντ)
Teegarden's Star
Terra Hunting Experiment (THE)
Terrestrial Time (TT)
THEMIS
tidal locking
tidal migration
tidal Q
time standard
TIMED
timescale (t)
Titan
tomography
TRACE
trans-Neptune object (TNO)
transit
transiting planet
transition region
TRAPPIST-1
TW Hydrae (TW Hya)
twinkling
ultraviolet (UV)
ultraviolet astronomy
Ulysses
Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS)
Uranus
USNO
Van Allen belts
variable star
Vega
vegetation red edge (VRE)
Venus
visible light
Voyager
WASP-43b
watt (W)
white dwarf (WD)
Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP)
Wilson-Bappu effect
Wolf 359
Wolf-Rayet star
WR 104
WR 140
X-ray source
Yarkovsky-O'Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack effect (YORP)
Yohkoh
zenith
zodiacal light
zonal flow

Index