The Sun is the star at the center of the solar system and is by far the largest object in it. It has a diameter of about 1.39 million kilometers and a mass of approximately 1.99 x 10^30 kilograms, accounting for about 99.86% of the total mass of the solar system. The Sun is a nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, with internal convective motion that generates its magnetic field. The temperature at the Sun's core is about 15 million degrees Celsius, where nuclear fusion occurs, releasing energy in the form of electromagnetic waves and heat. This energy is radiated outwards, and it takes about 8 minutes and 20 seconds for it to reach Earth, which is about 149.6 million kilometers away. The Sun rotates on its axis, completing one rotation in about 25.4 Earth days near the equator and about 34 Earth days near the poles. The Sun is classified as a G-type main-sequence star, with a lifespan of about 10 billion years, and it has a complex system of magnetic activity that produces sunspots, flares, and coronal mass ejections that can affect Earth's space environment. The Sun has been studied extensively by a variety of telescopes and spacecraft, including the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and the Parker Solar Probe.
Find it in the Sky
Chose a date & time and view the position of the Sun in the sky on our interactive planetarium.
In Evidence
The Sun
The Sun is in the constellation of Gemini, at a distance of
Today's Sunspots Activity
The image below is a recent photograph of the solar photosphere, highlighting the sunspots and active regions currently visible on the Sun's surface:
Finder Charts
The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of the Sun in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.
Equatorial Coordinates
Apparent
J2000
Additional Information
Rise and Set Times
The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of the Sun from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.
Distance from Earth
The distance of the Sun from Earth is currently
The following graph shows the distance of the Sun from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).
The value of the distance of the Sun from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.
Closest Approach to Earth
In the period between January 1, 1600 and December 30, 2499, the closest approach of the Sun to Earth happened on Tuesday 27 December 1605 at a distance of 0.983059 Astronomical Units, or 147,063,549 kilometers:
Note: the values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Light Curve
The following chart shows the light curve of the Sun, i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.
Physical Properties
The table below lists the known key physical properties of the Sun.
| Physical Parameter | Value | Relative to Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | 1391684 km | 109.2202 |
| Mass | 1989000 x 1024 kg | 333,043.6574 |
| Density | 1.41 gr/cm3 | 0.2557 |
| Escape Velocity | 618.02 km/s | 55.2297 |
| Sideral Rotation | 587.2800 hours | 24.5370 |
| Absolute Magnitude | -26.8 |
15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of the Sun computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Apparent DiameterDiameter | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 10 2025 | 07h 18m 05s | +22° 13’ 14” | -26.71 | 1,887.6” | Gemini |
| Jul 11 2025 | 07h 22m 09s | +22° 05’ 27” | -26.71 | 1,887.6” | Gemini |
| Jul 12 2025 | 07h 26m 14s | +21° 57’ 17” | -26.71 | 1,887.7” | Gemini |
| Jul 13 2025 | 07h 30m 18s | +21° 48’ 43” | -26.71 | 1,887.7” | Gemini |
| Jul 14 2025 | 07h 34m 21s | +21° 39’ 49” | -26.71 | 1,887.8” | Gemini |
| Jul 15 2025 | 07h 38m 24s | +21° 30’ 32” | -26.71 | 1,887.9” | Gemini |
| Jul 16 2025 | 07h 42m 26s | +21° 20’ 53” | -26.71 | 1,888.0” | Gemini |
| Jul 17 2025 | 07h 46m 28s | +21° 10’ 51” | -26.71 | 1,888.0” | Gemini |
| Jul 18 2025 | 07h 50m 29s | +21° 00’ 28” | -26.71 | 1,888.1” | Gemini |
| Jul 19 2025 | 07h 54m 30s | +20° 49’ 44” | -26.71 | 1,888.3” | Gemini |
| Jul 20 2025 | 07h 58m 31s | +20° 38’ 40” | -26.71 | 1,888.4” | Gemini |
| Jul 21 2025 | 08h 02m 30s | +20° 27’ 13” | -26.71 | 1,888.5” | Cancer |
| Jul 22 2025 | 08h 06m 29s | +20° 15’ 26” | -26.71 | 1,888.6” | Cancer |
| Jul 23 2025 | 08h 10m 28s | +20° 03’ 19” | -26.71 | 1,888.8” | Cancer |
Additional Resources on TheSkyLive
- The Sun: Complete reference information on TheSkyLive.com.
- Sunspots Activity: Recent image of the Sun's photosphere.
- Solar Eclipses: Extensive information about future and past solar eclipses.
- Where is the Sun?: Key information on where to find the Sun in the sky.
- Distance of the Sun from Earth: Find out how far the Sun is from Earth right now.
- How Bright is the Sun?: Current visual brightness (magnitude) and apparent size.
- Rise and Set Times: Rise and set times of the Sun from your location.
- Interactive Sky Map: Planetarium-style interactive visualization of the Sun's position in the sky.
- Live Position Tracker: High precision real time tracker of the Sun's position using deep space imagery.
- Ephemeris: 15 days the Sun's computed ephemeris.
- Physical Data: Detailed information about physical properties of the Sun.