Live image · every 15 min
The corona at 171 Å
Image: NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE and HMI science teams
Sun
Part of Solar SystemMilky Way
The star at the center of our Solar System, a 4.6-billion-year-old ball of hot plasma.
The Sun's coronal holes
Image: NASA/SDO
Every second the Sun turns about 600 million tonnes of hydrogen into helium, and the energy released lights and warms the whole Solar System. It holds 99.8% of the system's mass, and about 109 Earths would fit side by side across its face.
Key facts
- Type
- Yellow dwarf star (G2V)
- Age
- About 4.6 billion years
- Diameter
- About 1.39 million km
- Surface temperature
- About 5,500 °C
- Distance from Earth
- About 150 million km (8 light-minutes)
More photos of Sun
Live views of Sun
- Live image · every 15 min
The chromosphere at 304 Å
Image: NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE and HMI science teams
- Live image · every 15 min
Sunspots in visible light
Image: NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE and HMI science teams
- Live image · several times a day
The outer corona
Image: SOHO/LASCO (ESA & NASA)
