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| Age | about 4.5 billion years |
| Average distance from Earth | 1 astronomical unit (AU) or 92,960,000 miles |
| Diameter | 1,390,000 km |
| Mass | 1.989e30 kg |
| Temperature | 5,800 K (surface) |
| 15.6 million K (core) | |
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| The Sun is often called a yellow dwarf or G dwarf star, and contains more than 99.8% of the total mass of our solar system. The Sun rotates faster at its equator than at its poles. Sunspots, which appear as dark areas on the Sun’s surface, are regions of intense magnetic activity and usually exist as pairs with opposite magnetic polarity. These magnetic fields are the source of solar flares and coronal mass ejections. In addition to heat and light, the Sun also emits a low density stream of charged particles (mostly electrons and protons) known as the solar wind. The solar wind and the energy particles ejected by solar flares can have dramatic effects on the Earth—power line surges, radio interference and auroral displays. The solar wind has a large effect on the tails of comets and even has measurable effects on the trajectories of spacecraft. | |
Our Solar System
Our solar system is located on the edge of a spiral arm called Orion’s Arm, and is one-half to two-thirds of the way (28,000 light-years) from the center of our Milky Way galaxy.The Sun, Sol
The Inner Planets
Mercury
Venus
Earth
The Moon
Mars
The Asteroid Belt
Dwarf planet, Ceres
Asteroid, Ida
Asteroid, Vesta
Asteroid, Eros
The Outer Planets
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
The Kuiper Belt
Dwarf planet, Pluto
Dwarf planet, Eris
The Oort Cloud
Dwarf planet, Sedna
Comet Halley
Comet Hale-Bopp
Glossary of Terms
