In astronomy, the solar mass is a unit of mass used to express the mass of stars and larger objects such as galaxies. It is equal to the mass of the Sun, about two nonillionkilograms. Its value and conventional symbol are: Lunar astronomy: the large crater is Daedalus, photographed by the crew of Apollo 11 as they circled the Moon in 1969. ... Mass is a property of a physical object that quantifies the amount of matter it contains. ... The Pleiades star cluster A star is a massive body of plasma in outer space that is currently producing or has produced energy through nuclear fusion. ... NGC 4414, a typical spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices, is about 56,000 light years in diameter and approximately 60 million light years distant. ... The Sun is the spectral type G2V yellow star at the center of Earths solar system. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with English-language numerals. ... The international prototype, made of platinum-iridium, which is kept at the BIPM under conditions specified by the 1st CGPM in 1889. ...
The solar mass is 333,000 times the mass of the Earth. Earth is the third planet from the Sun. ...
Over 99% of the mass of our own solar system is contained within the Sun. Presentation of the solar system (not to scale) The solar system comprises the Earths Sun and the retinue of celestial objects gravitationally bound to it. ... The Sun is the spectral type G2V yellow star at the center of Earths solar system. ...
Uncertainty in the gravitational constant makes the calculation of the solar mass equally imprecise. According to the law of universal gravitation, the attractive force between two bodies is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. ...
The difference in mass is expelled as energy and is carried to the surface of the Sun, through a process known as convection, where it is released as light and heat.
In this photograph, the solar poles are distinguished by a relative absence of supergranulation network, and a much darker tone than the central portions of the disk.
This image of the solar corona was acquired on 23 December 1996 by the LASCO instrument on the SOHO spacecraft.
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