General Information on the Sun
- The Sun is entirely gaseous.
- Our Sun is one of 100 billion that make up our galaxy.
- The Sun is the largest object in the solar system and contains
98% of the solar system's total mass.
- The Sun, like the Earth, rotates around its axis. One rotation
takes about 27 days.
- Its energy comes from nuclear fusion which occurs deep in its
core. Energy generated in the Sun's core takes a million years to
reach its surface.
- The age of the Sun is about 4.5 billion years.
- The Sun appears to have enough fuel to go for another five
billion years.
Solar Statistics
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Mass (kg) | 1.989e+30
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Mass (Earth = 1) | 332,830
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Equatorial radius (km) | 695,000
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Equatorial radius (Earth = 1) | 108.97
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Mean density (gm/cm^3) | 1.410
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Rotational period (days) | 25-36*
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Escape velocity (km/sec) | 618.02
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Luminosity (ergs/sec) | 3.827e33
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Magnitude (Vo) | -26.8
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Mean surface temperature | 6,000°C
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Age (billion years) | 4.5
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Principal chemistryHydrogenHeliumOxygen
CarbonNitrogenNeonIronSiliconMagnesiumSulfurAll others
92.1% 7.8% 0.061% 0.030% 0.0084% 0.0076% 0.0037% 0.0031% 0.0024% 0.0015% 0.0015%
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Solar Structure
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Solar Eclipses
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Solar Prominences and Flares