Sun

“The Sun is yellow, it heats the ground, that’s how they name stuff.”

-Tim Taylor

The Sun is the star at the center of our solar system. It is the largest and most massive object in our solar system, making roughly 99% of the solar system’s mass. It is also called “Sol” or rarely “Helios”. It is currently a Main Sequence star, but will soon transition into a red giant.

The Sun in true Color

Astronomical data

Radius (in Solar Radii): 1 R

Diameter (in Kilometers): 1,391,400 Km

Mass (in Earth Masses): 332,950 M🜨

Distance from Earth (in Astronomical Units): 1 AU

Spectral Type: G2V (Yellow)

Life Cycle

The Sun probably formed from a molecular cloud that gave birth to other stars like Proxima Centauri and Alpha Centauri. Nowadays The Sun is halfway through its Main Sequence phase, using up the hydrogen in its core. When it exhausts all of the hydrogen in its core, it will expand into a red giant. After a billion years as a red giant, it will shed its outer layers into space, leaving behind a white dwarf core. It is theorized that the white dwarf core will cool down into a black dwarf, ending the life cycle.

The Sun now vs. its red giant phase

Gallery

The Sun compared with Jupiter and Earth

1 comment

  1. Sometimes it’s hard to put into perspective how small we truly are. Maybe it’s time we take care of it and each other.

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