The Sun
The Sun is in the constellation of Gemini, at a distance of
Today's Sunspots Activity
The image below is a recent photograph of the solar photosphere, highlighting the sunspots and active regions currently visible on the Sun's surface:
Finder Charts
The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of the Sun in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.
Equatorial Coordinates
Apparent
J2000
Additional Information
Rise and Set Times
The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of the Sun from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.
Distance from Earth
The distance of the Sun from Earth is currently
The following graph shows the distance of the Sun from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).
The value of the distance of the Sun from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.
Closest Approach to Earth
In the period between January 1, 1600 and December 30, 2499, the closest approach of the Sun to Earth happened on Tuesday 27 December 1605 at a distance of 0.983059 Astronomical Units, or 147,063,549 kilometers:
Note: the values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Light Curve
The following chart shows the light curve of the Sun, i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.
Physical Properties
The table below lists the known key physical properties of the Sun.
| 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 |
15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of the Sun computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Apparent DiameterDiameter | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 19 2025 | 05h 51m 13s | +23° 25’ 06” | -26.71 | 1,888.6” | Taurus |
| Jun 20 2025 | 05h 55m 23s | +23° 25’ 47” | -26.71 | 1,888.4” | Taurus |
| Jun 21 2025 | 05h 59m 33s | +23° 26’ 02” | -26.71 | 1,888.3” | Taurus |
| Jun 22 2025 | 06h 03m 42s | +23° 25’ 52” | -26.71 | 1,888.1” | Gemini |
| Jun 23 2025 | 06h 07m 52s | +23° 25’ 18” | -26.71 | 1,888.0” | Gemini |
| Jun 24 2025 | 06h 12m 02s | +23° 24’ 19” | -26.71 | 1,887.9” | Gemini |
| Jun 25 2025 | 06h 16m 11s | +23° 22’ 54” | -26.71 | 1,887.8” | Gemini |
| Jun 26 2025 | 06h 20m 20s | +23° 21’ 05” | -26.71 | 1,887.7” | Gemini |
| Jun 27 2025 | 06h 24m 30s | +23° 18’ 52” | -26.71 | 1,887.7” | Gemini |
| Jun 28 2025 | 06h 28m 39s | +23° 16’ 14” | -26.71 | 1,887.6” | Gemini |
| Jun 29 2025 | 06h 32m 48s | +23° 13’ 11” | -26.71 | 1,887.5” | Gemini |
| Jun 30 2025 | 06h 36m 56s | +23° 09’ 43” | -26.71 | 1,887.5” | Gemini |
| Jul 01 2025 | 06h 41m 05s | +23° 05’ 52” | -26.71 | 1,887.5” | Gemini |
| Jul 02 2025 | 06h 45m 12s | +23° 01’ 36” | -26.71 | 1,887.4” | Gemini |
Additional Resources on TheSkyLive
- The Sun: Complete reference information on TheSkyLive.com.
- Sunspots Activity: Recent image of the Sun's photosphere.
- Solar Eclipses: Extensive information about future and past solar eclipses.
- Where is the Sun?: Key information on where to find the Sun in the sky.
- Distance of the Sun from Earth: Find out how far the Sun is from Earth right now.
- How Bright is the Sun?: Current visual brightness (magnitude) and apparent size.
- Rise and Set Times: Rise and set times of the Sun from your location.
- Interactive Sky Map: Planetarium-style interactive visualization of the Sun's position in the sky.
- Live Position Tracker: High precision real time tracker of the Sun's position using deep space imagery.
- Ephemeris: 15 days the Sun's computed ephemeris.
- Physical Data: Detailed information about physical properties of the Sun.