5.5: Summary of the Sun
- Page ID
- 111876
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| Characteristic | How Found | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Mean distance | Radar reflection from planets | 1 AU (149,597,892 km) |
| Maximum distance from Earth | 1.521 × 108 km | |
| Minimum distance from Earth | 1.471 × 108 km | |
| Mass | Orbit of Earth | 333,400 Earth masses (1.99 × 1030 kg) |
| Mean angular diameter | Direct measure | 31´59´´.3 |
| Diameter of photosphere | Angular size and distance | 109.3 × Earth diameter (1.39 × 106 km) |
| Mean density | Mass/volume | 1.41 g/cm3 (1400 kg/m3) |
| Gravitational acceleration at photosphere (surface gravity) | GM/R2 | 27.9 × Earth surface gravity = 273 m/s2 |
| Solar constant | Instrument sensitive to radiation at all wavelengths | 1370 W/m2 |
| Luminosity | Solar constant × area of spherical surface 1 AU in radius | 3.8 × 1026 W |
| Spectral class | Spectrum | G2V |
| Effective temperature | Derived from luminosity and radius of the Sun | 5800 K |
| Rotation period at equator | Sunspots and Doppler shift in spectra taken at the edge of the Sun | 24 days 16 hours |
| Inclination of equator to ecliptic | Motions of sunspots | 7°10´.5 |
Solar Regions
Astronomers identify four major regions within the sun.
- First there is the sun’s Core, the central region where nuclear fusion occurs. This is a very high temperature gaseous soup of charged particles called plasma at 15 million degrees.
- Next is the Radiative Zone, where energy generated in the core is carried by light that bounces from particle to particle through the Radiative Zone.
- Above the radiative zone is the Interface Layer, where it is thought the sun’s magnetic field is generated. This layer or zone lies between the Radiative and Convective Zones.
- The Convective Zone is the region in which energy is transported outward by convection; 70% of the sun’s radius. Convection occurs because heated fluids rise and cooler fluids fall. Convection is the area of the sun which shows rising heat – recall that heat rises and cold falls.
Attributions
This table was adapted from "The Structure and Composition of the Sun" in Openstax Astronomy 2nd ed. originally written by Andrew Fraknoi, David Morrison, and Sidney Wolff, and published under a Creative Common Attribution Licence 4.0.
This section was adapted from "Solar Regions" in Introduction to Astronomy originally written by Lumen Learning, and published under a Creative Common Attribution License 4.0.