Sirius Geography

The sun is a hot, burning ball of gas at the centre of our solar system. It is by far the largest, hottest, and most massive object in it and provides earth with the heat and light necessary for life^[1]. Although unique inside our solar system, the sun is a very typical star in a stable stage of its life—like over 90% of all stars^[2].

A Massive Ball of Gas

The sun is not just the biggest object in our solar system but accounts for 99.8% of its mass^[3]!

Density at the core 150,000 kg/m3 = 8 times density of gold or 13 times density of lead^[4]

Radiative zone: 7 million to 2 million ˚C across the zone.

Convection Zone: 2 million ˚C to 6000˚C

Photosphere 6000˚C to 4000˚C

Chromosphere 4500 to 8500˚C

Corona 2 million ˚C

[1] Stott, C., Dinwiddie, R., Hughes, D. & Sparrow, G. (2010). Space: From earth to the edge of the universe.  London, UK: DK.

[2] Stott, C., Dinwiddie, R., Hughes, D. & Sparrow, G. (2010). Space: From earth to the edge of the universe.  London, UK: DK.

[3] Morgan, B., et al., (2014). The planets: The definitive visual guide to our solar system. London, UK: DK.

[4] NASA. (2021). Our Sun: In depth. URL: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/sun/in-depth/