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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Jul 16 | -26.71 | 07h 40m 05s | +21° 26’ 42” | Gemini |
| 2018 Jul 17 | -26.71 | 07h 44m 08s | +21° 16’ 53” | Gemini |
| 2018 Jul 18 | -26.71 | 07h 48m 10s | +21° 06’ 42” | Gemini |
| 2018 Jul 19 | -26.71 | 07h 52m 10s | +20° 56’ 11” | Gemini |
| 2018 Jul 20 | -26.71 | 07h 56m 12s | +20° 45’ 17” | Gemini |
| 2018 Jul 21 | -26.71 | 08h 00m 11s | +20° 34’ 04” | Gemini |
| 2018 Jul 22 | -26.71 | 08h 04m 10s | +20° 22’ 28” | Cancer |
| 2018 Jul 23 | -26.71 | 08h 08m 09s | +20° 10’ 33” | Cancer |
| 2018 Jul 24 | -26.71 | 08h 12m 07s | +19° 58’ 18” | Cancer |
| 2018 Jul 25 | -26.71 | 08h 16m 05s | +19° 45’ 42” | Cancer |
| 2018 Jul 26 | -26.71 | 08h 20m 03s | +19° 32’ 48” | Cancer |
| 2018 Jul 27 | -26.71 | 08h 24m 00s | +19° 19’ 33” | Cancer |
| 2018 Jul 28 | -26.71 | 08h 27m 56s | +19° 06’ 01” | Cancer |
| 2018 Jul 29 | -26.71 | 08h 31m 50s | +18° 52’ 08” | Cancer |
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 | |