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The Sun Ephemeris Calculator
Compute the position of The Sun for any date and time between 1 January 1600 and 30 December 2499 and display the results on an interactive star map.
In Evidence
The Sun
The Sun is currently in the constellation of Pisces. The current Right Ascension of The Sun is 00h 28m 01s and the Declination is +03° 01’ 34” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current magnitude of The Sun is -26.75 (JPL).
Today's rise, transit and set times of The Sun from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- Sun is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- Go to interactive sky chart
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.
Are There Sunspots Today?
Here is a recent image of the Sun's surface showing the current sunspot activity:
The Sun Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide The Sun finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.
Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where The Sun is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is The Sun?, a page that provides all the information needed to find The Sun in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
The Sun Distance from Earth
The distance of The Sun from Earth is currently 149,315,805 kilometers, equivalent to 0.998115 Astronomical Units. Light takes 8 minutes and 18.0639 seconds to travel from The Sun and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of The Sun from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.
The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of Sun from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest Approach of The Sun to Earth
Between 1 January 1600 and 30 December 2499, the closest approach of The Sun to Earth happens on Tue Dec 27 1605 at a distance of 0.983059 Astronomical Units, or 147,063,549 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
The Sun Brightness
The current visual magnitude of The Sun is -26.75.
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 |
The Sun 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. Click on each row of the table to locate The Sun in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Apparent DiameterDiameter | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 Mar 21 | 23h 59m 13s | -00° 04’ 59” | -26.75 | 1,926.7” | Pisces |
| 2023 Mar 22 | 00h 02m 52s | +00° 18’ 42” | -26.75 | 1,926.2” | Pisces |
| 2023 Mar 23 | 00h 06m 30s | +00° 42’ 24” | -26.75 | 1,925.7” | Pisces |
| 2023 Mar 24 | 00h 10m 09s | +01° 06’ 05” | -26.75 | 1,925.1” | Pisces |
| 2023 Mar 25 | 00h 13m 48s | +01° 29’ 43” | -26.75 | 1,924.6” | Pisces |
| 2023 Mar 26 | 00h 17m 26s | +01° 53’ 20” | -26.75 | 1,924.0” | Pisces |
| 2023 Mar 27 | 00h 21m 05s | +02° 16’ 53” | -26.75 | 1,923.5” | Pisces |
| 2023 Mar 28 | 00h 24m 43s | +02° 40’ 23” | -26.75 | 1,923.0” | Pisces |
| 2023 Mar 29 | 00h 28m 22s | +03° 03’ 51” | -26.75 | 1,922.4” | Pisces |
| 2023 Mar 30 | 00h 32m 00s | +03° 27’ 15” | -26.75 | 1,921.9” | Pisces |
| 2023 Mar 31 | 00h 35m 39s | +03° 50’ 35” | -26.75 | 1,921.3” | Pisces |
| 2023 Apr 01 | 00h 39m 18s | +04° 13’ 50” | -26.74 | 1,920.8” | Pisces |
| 2023 Apr 02 | 00h 42m 56s | +04° 37’ 00” | -26.74 | 1,920.3” | Pisces |
| 2023 Apr 03 | 00h 46m 35s | +05° 00’ 06” | -26.74 | 1,919.7” | Pisces |