2.3 Convective zone 2.4 Photosphere 2.5 Atmosphere 2.6 Magnetic field 3 Chemical composition 3.

1 Singly ionized iron group elements 3.2 Solar and planetary mass fractionation relationship 4 Solar cycles 4.1 Sunspots and the sunspot cycle 4.2 Possible long-term cycle 5 Life phases 5.1 Formation 5.2 Main sequence 5.3 After core hydrogen exhaustion 5.4 Earth's fate 6 Sunlight 7 Motion and location 8 Theoretical problems 8.1 Coronal heating problem 8.2 Faint young Sun problem 9 History of observation 9.1 Early understanding 9.2 Development of scientific understanding 9.3 Solar space missions 10 Observation and effects 11 See also 12 Notes 13 References 14 Further reading 15 External links

Rotation characteristics Obliquity 7.25[1]

(to the ecliptic)

67.23
(to the galactic plane)

Right ascension
of North pole[10]

286.13
19 h 4 min 30 s

Declination
of North pole

+63.87
63 52' North

Sidereal 25.05 days [1] rotation period

(at equator) (at 16 latitude) 25.38 days [1] 25 d 9 h 7 min 12 s[10] (at poles)

34.4 days [1] 7.189 103 km/h[6]

Rotation velocity
(at equator)

Photospheric composition (by mass) Hydrogen Helium Oxygen Carbon Iron Neon Nitrogen Silicon Magnesium 73.46%[11] 24.85% 0.77% 0.29% 0.16% 0.12% 0.09% 0.07% 0.05%

Name and etymology

The English proper noun Sun developed from Old English Sulfur 0.04% sunne (in around 725, attested in Beowulf ), and may be related to south. Cognates to English sun appear in other Germanic languages, including Old Frisian sunne, sonne, Old Saxon sunna, Middle Dutch sonne, modern Dutch zon, Old High German sunna, modern German Sonne, Old Norse sunna, and Gothic sunn. All Germanic terms for the Sun stem from Proto-Germanic *sunnn.[32][33] In relation, the Sun is personified as a goddess in Germanic paganism, Sl/Sunna.[33] Scholars theorize that the Sun, as a Germanic goddess, may represent an extension of an earlier Proto-Indo-European sun deity due to IndoEuropean linguistic connections between Old Norse Sl, Sanskrit Surya, Gaulish Sulis, Lithuanian Saul, and