The Sun

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, with internal convective motion that generates a magnetic field via a dynamo process. It is by far the most important source of energy for life on Earth.

Surface temperature: 5,778 K

Surface area: 6.09×10¹² km²; 12,000 × Earth

Escape velocity (from the surface): 617.7 km/s; 55 × Earth

Equatorial surface gravity: 274 m/s²; 28 × Earth

Mean radiance (I_sol): 2.009×10⁷ W·m⁻²·sr⁻¹

General characteristics

The Sun is a G-type main-sequence star that comprises about 99.86% of the mass of the Solar System. The Sun has an absolute magnitude of +4.83, estimated to be brighter than about 85% of the stars in the Milky Way, most of which are red dwarfs.^[28][29] The Sun is a Population I, or heavy-element-rich,^[b] star.^[30] The formation of the Sun may have been triggered by shockwaves from one or more nearby supernovae.^[31] This is suggested by a high abundance of heavy elements in the Solar System, such as gold and uranium, relative to the abundances of these elements in so-called Population II, heavy-element-poor, stars. The heavy elements could most plausibly have been produced by endothermic nuclear reactions during a supernova, or by transmutation through neutron absorption within a massive second-generation star.^[30]The Sun is by far the brightest object in the Earth's sky, with an apparent magnitude of −26.74.^[32][33] This is about 13 billion times brighter than the next brightest star, Sirius, which has an apparent magnitude of −1.46. The mean distance of the Sun's center to Earth's center is approximately 1 astronomical unit (about 150,000,000 km; 93,000,000 mi), though the distance varies as Earth moves from perihelion in January to aphelion in July.^[34] At this average distance, light travels from the Sun's horizon to Earth's horizon in about 8 minutes and 19 seconds, while light from the closest points of the Sun and Earth takes about two seconds less. The energy of this sunlight supports almost all life^[c] on Earth by photosynthesis,^[35] and drives Earth's climate and weather.
The Sun does not have a definite boundary, but its density decreases exponentially with increasing height above the photosphere.^[36] For the purpose of measurement, however, the Sun's radius is considered to be the distance from its center to the edge of the photosphere, the apparent visible surface of the Sun.^[37]By this measure, the Sun is a near-perfect sphere with an oblateness estimated at about 9 millionths,^[38] which means that its polar diameter differs from its equatorial diameter by only 10 kilometres (6.2 mi).^[39] The tidal effect of the planets is weak and does not significantly affect the shape of the Sun.^[40] The Sun rotates faster at its equator than at its poles. This differential rotation is caused by convective motion due to heat transport and the Coriolis force due to the Sun's rotation. In a frame of reference defined by the stars, the rotational period is approximately 25.6 days at the equator and 33.5 days at the poles. Viewed from Earth as it orbits the Sun, the apparent rotational period of the Sun at its equator is about 28 days.^[41]