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AsteriaStar

Star

The Sun

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System, around which the planets and other bodies orbit.

Type
Star
Domain
Scientific connections
Connections
66

NASA/GSFC/Solar Dynamics Observatory · NASA media (public domain)

Image of Sun From NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory
Image of Sun From NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory · NASA/GSFC/Solar Dynamics Observatory

Experience system V6

Stellar observatory profile

A star reading built around classification, catalog identity, observational context, and connected systems.

Stellar structureCatalog identitySky atlasSpectral cue
  1. 01

    Observe

    NASA imagery anchors the visual reading with licensed source metadata.

  2. 02

    Measure

    Numerical fields come from the typed Solar System catalog and are omitted when not available.

  3. 03

    Locate

    Part of Solar System.

  4. 04

    Connect

    66 graph relations shape the knowledge viewport.

Mass
1,989,000 × 10²⁴ kg
Radius
696,340 km
Diameter
1,391,400 km
Mean temperature
5,505 °C

Scientific map

Atlas context

The Suncoordinate fields shown only when available
  • Part of

    Solar System

  • Target of

    Parker Solar Probe

  • Orbited by

    Ida

  • Orbited by

    Tempel 1

Original SVG diagram

Stellar structure

Stellar readingCore and radiative regionsPhotosphere / visible surfaceSpectral observations requiredThe Sun
Classification
Star
Catalog numbers
Not recorded
Graph relations
66
Evidence sources
1
Active RegionsApparent Solar Ti...BorrellyCoronal HolesCoronal LoopCoronal Mass Ejec...Coronal StreamerDifferential Rota...Fastest Human-Mad...FilamentGranulationHelioseismologyThe SunStar

Image provenance

Photography as evidence

4 cleared visual records

Continue the atlas

Curated next objects

Observation

How this was captured

Observatory / instrument
Atmospheric Imaging Assembly
Mission
Solar Dynamics Observatory
Source
NASA
Observation date
2025-09-10

Gallery

Solar Scientist Confirm Existence of Flux Ropes on the Sun

Caption: This is an image of magnetic loops on the sun, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory on July 18, 2012.

2017

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center · NASA media (public domain)

Source archive ↗

Data

Scientific data & provenance

Data & provenance

Stable ID
star:sun
Type
Star
Domain
Scientific connections
Relationships
66
Graph version
1.0.0

Dataset membership

Open data

In the graph export: graph.json · graph.jsonld

Planned API: GET /api/v0/entities/star:sun

Scientific quality

Substantial
Reviewed1 sourcev1.0.0

5 of 6 applicable dimensions complete, 1 partial

Description
Complete
Source coverage
Partial
Relationship coverage
Complete
Review coverage
Complete
Citation coverage
Complete
Image coverage
Complete
Timeline coverage
Not applicable

Scientific entity. Dimensions that cannot apply to this object are excluded rather than counted as gaps. See the evidence framework and authority dashboard.

Provenance & sources

review 2026.1

Asteria Scientific Review Process · verification: sourced · accurate

  • High evidenceconfirmed

    The Sun is a G-type main-sequence star (G2V) at the centre of the Solar System, containing about 99.86% of the system's mass; sunlight takes roughly 8.3 minutes to reach Earth.

    Source: NASA (NSSDCA) — NASA Planetary Fact Sheet · Public domain (US Government work)

Reviewed by the internal Asteria Scientific Review Process — not an external institutional review. See the evidence framework and authority dashboard.

Scientific citations

4

Real, source-backed references — primary papers first, then datasets and institutional sources. Formatted through the citation engine; nothing is fabricated.

  • Institutional pageNOAA Solar Calculator

    NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory

    Cite (APA / BibTeX)
    NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory (n.d.). NOAA Solar Calculator. NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory. https://gml.noaa.gov/grad/solcalc/
    
    @misc{cite:noaa-solar-calculator,
      title        = {NOAA Solar Calculator},
      organization = {NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory},
      year         = {n.d.},
      url          = {https://gml.noaa.gov/grad/solcalc/},
      note         = {Public-domain solar-position algorithm — declination, equation of time, sunrise/sunset, and twilight — the method implemented by the computed Sun & Twilight times.}
    }
  • NASA

    Cite (APA / BibTeX)
    NASA (n.d.). Sun — NASA Solar System Exploration. NASA. https://science.nasa.gov/
    
    @misc{cite:nasa-star-sun,
      title        = {Sun — NASA Solar System Exploration},
      organization = {NASA},
      year         = {n.d.},
      url          = {https://science.nasa.gov/},
      note         = {NASA overview of Sun.}
    }
  • Institutional pageThe Sun — NASA Science

    NASA

    Cite (APA / BibTeX)
    NASA (n.d.). The Sun — NASA Science. NASA. https://science.nasa.gov/sun/
    
    @misc{cite:nasa-sun,
      title        = {The Sun — NASA Science},
      organization = {NASA},
      year         = {n.d.},
      url          = {https://science.nasa.gov/sun/},
      note         = {NASA overview of the Sun: our star, its structure, and its role in day, night, and the seasons.}
    }
  • United States Naval Observatory

    Cite (APA / BibTeX)
    United States Naval Observatory (n.d.). USNO Astronomical Applications Department. United States Naval Observatory. https://aa.usno.navy.mil/
    
    @misc{cite:usno-astronomical-applications,
      title        = {USNO Astronomical Applications Department},
      organization = {United States Naval Observatory},
      year         = {n.d.},
      url          = {https://aa.usno.navy.mil/},
      note         = {Solar and lunar coordinates, phase, and rise/set/twilight/transit methodology (the Astronomical Almanac); the public-domain formulae behind the computed Moon phase, the computed Sun & twilight times, and the computed moonrise/moonset and lunar position.}
    }

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Sources & references

The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.

  • NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration

    Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.

    Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.