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Sun
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Images, Videos & Interactives
Joshua Tree National Park solar system to scale Inland Sea photosphere of the Sun Planets of Our Solar System
How to watch a solar eclipse
Explore the physics behind nuclear fusion and the Sun
evolution of a Sun-like star internal rotation of the Sun
Observe a dopplergram showing the velocity of solar material in the photosphere captured by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager
For Students
imaging using ultraviolet light
Sun summary
Quizzes
View of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, M31).
Astronomy and Space Quiz
The orbits of the planets and other elements of the solar system, including asteroids, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, comet
Space Odyssey
Ursa major constellation illustration art. (Big Dipper) stars, space, night sky)
Stars: Explosions in Space
1 July 2002: The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite reveals a massive solar eruption more than 30 times the Earth's diameter. The eruption formed when a loop of a magnetic field over the surface of the Sun trapped hot gas.
Brightest Star in the Solar System
Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.
All About Astronomy
Related Questions
Read Next
solar eclipse, sun, moon, astronomy, space
How Do You Tell the Difference Between Total, Annular, Solar, and Lunar Eclipses?
Solar Eclipse, Eclipse, Solar Flare, Outer Space, Astronomy
What Causes Lunar and Solar Eclipses?
Colorful winter sunset
What's the Difference Between a Solstice and an Equinox?
Solar system illustration. (Sun; planets)
A Model of the Cosmos
Solar system illustration. (planets; sun)
Why Are Planets Round?
Discover
winter ice melting salt on the ground, pattern as background
Why Does Salt Melt Ice?
In this aerial photo, structures are damaged and destroyed October 15, 2005 in Balakot, Pakistan. It is estimated that 90% of the city of Balakot was leveled by the earthquake. The death toll in the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck northern Pakistan on October 8, 2005 is believed to be 38,000 with at least 1,300 more dead in Indian Kashmir. SEE CONTENT NOTES.
6 of the World’s Deadliest Natural Disasters
The Lost Colony of Roanoke, North Carolina, where 115 people mysteriously disappeared c. 1590. John White discovers the word Croatoan carved onto a tree upon his return to the deserted Roanoke Colony in 1590
The Lost Colony of Roanoke
Parsons Weems' Fable, oil on canvas by Grant Wood, 1939; in the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. Catalog entry: The historian Mason Locke Weems, commonly known by his clerical title, Parson Weems, pulls back a curtain to point at 6-year-old George Washington. Bearing an adult head and holding an axe, George gazes blankly up at his father, Augustine, who questions his son while holding a partially cut cherry tree. All of this takes place in front of a 20th-century brick building, which Wood modeled after his own home in Iowa. The scene illustrates the fable of Washington and the cherry tree, which Weems invented in 1806 for the first president's biography. Wood playfully suggests the artifice of the tale here, presenting the story in the manner of a costumed stage play rather than a real event. Amid the action, two Black figures pick cherries in the background, a reference to Washington' slaveholding past and a reminder of of what often gets left out in historical mythmaking.
Did George Washington Really Say, “I Can’t Tell a Lie”?
Odissi Indian classical female dancer on white background. (Indian dancer; classical dancer; Indian dance)
6 Classical Dances of India
Young man skeet shooting with airborne shell
6 Unusual Olympic Sports
Binary Computer Code, Binary Code, Internet, Technology, Password, Data
How Does Wi-Fi Work?

Sun: Related Content

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News •

Sun sets over minimum payments for Victorians with rooftop solar • Feb. 15, 2025, 7:07 AM ET (Sydney Morning Herald)
Solar Orbiter Just Solved a Major Mystery About the Sun • Feb. 7, 2025, 5:48 AM ET (SciTechDaily)

Photos and Videos

Joshua Tree National Park
solar system to scale
Inland Sea
photosphere of the Sun
evolution of a Sun-like star
internal rotation of the Sun
visible solar spectrum
chromosphere
active region of the Sun
full-disk multiwavelength extreme ultraviolet image of the Sun
How to watch a solar eclipse
Explore the physics behind nuclear fusion and the Sun
Observe a dopplergram showing the velocity of solar material in the photosphere captured by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager
Watch gas updrafts form convection cells on the Sun's surface before dissolving or exploding
Inspect X-ray imaging of the Sun's veil of plasma known as the solar corona, sunspots, and gaps in the corona
See All Videos, Images and Interactives →

Related Topics and References

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Related Quizzes and Features

Quiz
Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.
All About Astronomy
Ursa major constellation illustration art. (Big Dipper) stars, space, night sky)
Stars: Explosions in Space
View of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, M31).
Astronomy and Space Quiz
Encyclopaedia Britannica thistle graphic to be used with a Mendel/Consumer quiz in place of a photograph.
27 True-or-False Questions from Britannica’s Most Difficult Science Quizzes
1 July 2002: The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite reveals a massive solar eruption more than 30 times the Earth's diameter. The eruption formed when a loop of a magnetic field over the surface of the Sun trapped hot gas.
Brightest Star in the Solar System
Encyclopaedia Britannica thistle graphic to be used with a Mendel/Consumer quiz in place of a photograph.
36 Questions from Britannica’s Most Popular Science Quizzes
Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.
All About Astronomy
View of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, M31).
Astronomy and Space Quiz
The orbits of the planets and other elements of the solar system, including asteroids, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, comet
Space Odyssey
The orbits of the planets and other elements of the solar system, including asteroids, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, comet
Space Odyssey
List
1 July 2002: The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite reveals a massive solar eruption more than 30 times the Earth's diameter. The eruption formed when a loop of a magnetic field over the surface of the Sun trapped hot gas.
6 Questions About the Sun Answered
Demystified
Colorful winter sunset
What's the Difference Between a Solstice and an Equinox?
solar eclipse, sun, moon, astronomy, space
How Do You Tell the Difference Between Total, Annular, Solar, and Lunar Eclipses?
Colorful winter sunset
What's the Difference Between a Solstice and an Equinox?
Solar system illustration. (planets; sun)
Why Are Planets Round?