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SunOur starThe Sun is a star, and an ordinary oneA G2V yellow dwarf: the nearest star, not the biggest or brightest.

SunOur starHow big is the Sun?About 1.4 million km across, and more than 330,000 Earths in mass.

SunOur starHow old is the Sun, and how long will it shine?About 4.6 billion years old, with roughly 5 billion years of hydrogen to go.

SunOur starHow far away is the Sun today?About 150 million km on average; today's figure is worked out for you.

SunLight and energyHow much light does the Sun give out?3.828 × 10²⁶ watts in all; about 1361 watts per square metre at Earth.

SunInside and aboveWhat powers the Sun?Hydrogen fusing into helium in a core at about 15 million °C.

SunHistorical beliefsAdoring Re from his rising to his settingAn Egyptian scribe kneels with a hymn to the Sun, about 3,400 years ago.

SunHistorical beliefsAkhenaten and the light in the Sun's discFor one reign, the Sun's disc with rays ending in hands was Egypt's chief god.

SunHistorical beliefsStonehenge and the solstice SunMidsummer sunrise one way, midwinter sunset the other.

SunHistorical beliefsNewgrange: winter sunlight in a passage tombFor a few dawns around the winter solstice, light reaches the chamber.

SunHistorical beliefsChankillo: thirteen towers that count the daysA line of towers in Peru spans the whole year's sunrise and sunset arc.

SunHistorical beliefsInti: the Sun in Inka CuscoA temple walled in gold, and a festival of the June solstice still held today.

SunAstrology & mythsYour Sun sign, and where the Sun is todayThe sign is a 30° slice of the sky's year, counted from the March equinox.

SunAstrology & mythsPtolemy's Sun: heating, and somewhat dryingEach planet's influence came from mixing hot, cold, moist and dry.

SunAstrology & mythsDay charts and night chartsWhether the Sun is above the horizon changes how a chart is read.

SunAstrology & mythsWhy Leo is the Sun's signPtolemy gave the two warmest, most northern signs to the two lights.

SunAstrology & mythsThe Sun exalted in AriesWhere the Sun turns north, astrologers placed its greatest strength.

SunAstrology & mythsEclipses as omens in PtolemyFor Ptolemy, eclipses were the first cause of events affecting whole countries.

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Your sky today, explained

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