Sun
Overview
Note
See this section’s top page for some background on the Sun.
Do stars have a surface? Not in the traditional sense of how we think of a surface—terra firma. The Sun is a ball of gas and plasma, so there is no hard surface for us to stand on. However, there is a layer we can see. That is the first layer that is opaque to us, under the transparent layers of the Sun’s atmosphere. This layer of the Sun is called the photosphere, and this is the layer we show in this data set.
We see this when the cloud cover is just right to show the Sun as a “ball” of light in the sky. The clouds adequately filter the Sun so we can see the Sun as a round disk of light. Of course, it’s never good to look directly at the Sun, but now and then mother nature allows us to peek.
An image of the Sun’s photosphere. Wrapped on a sphere which is properly sized, the image is not how we see the Sun, but how a telescope sees the Sun. The orbits of the planets appear at the top of the image, in the distance.
This rendition is properly sized for the radius of the Sun, which is 695,700 kilometers (432,288 miles). About 218 Earths would fit across the diameter of the Sun.
The temperature of the Sun at the photosphere is about 5,800 Kelvin (5,500°C or 9,900°F). Its varying surface suggests areas of activity. We know there are sunspots, flares, and other outbursts characterizing an active surface. This activity occurs over regular eleven-year periods.
The Sun image from afar within the context of the inner Solar System. Probably best to turn this off here and use the Solar Glare instead.
Profiles
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