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 Oct 12 | -26.75 | 13h 08m 40s | -07° 17’ 38” | Virgo |
| 2017 Oct 13 | -26.75 | 13h 12m 23s | -07° 40’ 08” | Virgo |
| 2017 Oct 14 | -26.75 | 13h 16m 05s | -08° 02’ 31” | Virgo |
| 2017 Oct 15 | -26.75 | 13h 19m 48s | -08° 24’ 50” | Virgo |
| 2017 Oct 16 | -26.75 | 13h 23m 30s | -08° 46’ 59” | Virgo |
| 2017 Oct 17 | -26.75 | 13h 27m 15s | -09° 09’ 02” | Virgo |
| 2017 Oct 18 | -26.75 | 13h 31m 00s | -09° 30’ 57” | Virgo |
| 2017 Oct 19 | -26.75 | 13h 34m 45s | -09° 52’ 45” | Virgo |
| 2017 Oct 20 | -26.75 | 13h 38m 30s | -10° 14’ 24” | Virgo |
| 2017 Oct 21 | -26.75 | 13h 42m 16s | -10° 35’ 53” | Virgo |
| 2017 Oct 22 | -26.75 | 13h 46m 04s | -10° 57’ 12” | Virgo |
| 2017 Oct 23 | -26.75 | 13h 49m 51s | -11° 18’ 23” | Virgo |
| 2017 Oct 24 | -26.75 | 13h 53m 39s | -11° 39’ 23” | Virgo |
| 2017 Oct 25 | -26.75 | 13h 57m 29s | -12° 00’ 11” | Virgo |
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 | |