The Sun
The Sun Sky Charts and Coordinates
This is a simplified sky chart, showing where The Sun is now with respect to the brightest stars and constellations.
More advanced sky charts are available on TheSkyLive for this object: 1) the Online Planetarium which is interactive and allows to select dates and additional objects to visualize; and 2) the Live Position and Data Tracker which provides the highest precision position data and features deep sky imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey.
High Precision Live Sky Chart
The Sun Rise and Set Times
Today's The Sun rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. All times are relative to the local timezone Europe/London.
Sunspots Today
The Sun Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of The Sun computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate The Sun in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | MagnitudeMag | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Aug 13 | -26.71 | 09h 30m 27s | +14° 44’ 48” | Leo |
| 2017 Aug 14 | -26.71 | 09h 34m 12s | +14° 26’ 30” | Leo |
| 2017 Aug 15 | -26.71 | 09h 37m 58s | +14° 07’ 57” | Leo |
| 2017 Aug 16 | -26.71 | 09h 41m 42s | +13° 49’ 09” | Leo |
| 2017 Aug 17 | -26.72 | 09h 45m 27s | +13° 30’ 10” | Leo |
| 2017 Aug 18 | -26.72 | 09h 49m 09s | +13° 10’ 58” | Leo |
| 2017 Aug 19 | -26.72 | 09h 52m 53s | +12° 51’ 33” | Leo |
| 2017 Aug 20 | -26.72 | 09h 56m 35s | +12° 31’ 54” | Leo |
| 2017 Aug 21 | -26.72 | 10h 00m 18s | +12° 12’ 06” | Leo |
| 2017 Aug 22 | -26.72 | 10h 04m 00s | +11° 52’ 05” | Leo |
| 2017 Aug 23 | -26.72 | 10h 07m 41s | +11° 31’ 51” | Leo |
| 2017 Aug 24 | -26.72 | 10h 11m 21s | +11° 11’ 29” | Leo |
| 2017 Aug 25 | -26.72 | 10h 15m 02s | +10° 50’ 54” | Leo |
| 2017 Aug 26 | -26.72 | 10h 18m 42s | +10° 30’ 11” | Leo |
Distance of The Sun from Earth
The following chart shows the distance of The Sun from Earth as a function of time. Distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with a 2 days interval.
The reported distances might be inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of Sun is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Light Curve of The Sun
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of The Sun, according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.
The Sun Physical Data
The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of The Sun. Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Physical Parameter | Value | Relative to Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | 1391684 km | 109.2202 |
| Mass | 1989000 x 1024 kg | 333,043.6574 |
| Density | 1.41 gr/cm3 | 0.2557 |
| Escape Velocity | 618.02 km/s | 55.2297 |
| Sideral Rotation | 587.2800 hours | 24.5370 |
| Absolute Magnitude | -26.8 | |