The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. The Sun, by itself accounts for about 99.86% of the Solar System's mass; the remainder consists of the planets (including Earth), asteroids, meteoroids, comets, and dust in orbit. About three-fourths of the Sun's mass consists of hydrogen, most of the rest is helium. Less than 2% consists of other elements, including iron, oxygen, carbon, neon, and others.
The Sun's color is white, although ...
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The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. The Sun, by itself accounts for about 99.86% of the Solar System's mass; the remainder consists of the planets (including Earth), asteroids, meteoroids, comets, and dust in orbit. About three-fourths of the Sun's mass consists of hydrogen, most of the rest is helium. Less than 2% consists of other elements, including iron, oxygen, carbon, neon, and others.
The Sun's color is white, although from the surface of the Earth it may appear yellow because of atmospheric scattering. It has a spectral class of G2V, informally designated a "yellow star" because the majority of its radiation is in the yellow-green portion of the visible spectrum. The G2 indicates its surface temperature of approximately 5,780 K (5,510 °C.) The V (Roman five) in the spectral class indicates that the Sun, like most stars, is a main sequence star, and thus generates its energy by nuclear fusion of hydrogen nuclei into helium. Once regarded as a small and...
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