Solar radius

Values of 1\,R_{\odot} Units
6.955×108 metres
6.955×105 kilometres
0.0046491 AU
432,450 miles
7.351×10−8 ly
2.254×10−8 pc
2.3214753 ls

Solar radius is a unit of distance used to express the size of stars in astronomy equal to the current radius of the Sun:

1\,R_{\odot} = 6.955\times 10^5 \hbox{ km}

The solar radius is approximately 695,500 kilometres (432,450 miles) or about 110 times the radius of the Earth, or 10 times the average radius of Jupiter. It varies slightly from pole to equator due to its rotation, which induces an oblateness of order 10 parts per million. See 1 gigametre for similar distances.[1]

The SOHO spacecraft was used to measure the radius of the Sun by timing transits of Mercury across the surface during 2003 and 2006. The result was a measured radius of 696,342 ± 65 kilometres (432,687 ± 40 miles).[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Nasa RHESSI oblateness measurements 2012
  2. ↑ Emilio, Marcelo; Kuhn, Jeff R.; Bush, Rock I.; Scholl, Isabelle F., "Measuring the Solar Radius from Space during the 2003 and 2006 Mercury Transits", arXiv, retrieved 2012-03-28