Does our Sun spin like the Earth?

Spinning SunWith special telescopes, scientists looking at our Sun notice that its features appear to move from one side to the other.

This is because our Sun actually spins. (Just like our planet Earth, only much more slowly.) It takes about 27 days for the Sun to make one complete rotation.

film icon

The film loop below shows our Sun in both visible light and invisible X-rays. Click on it to download the entire movie. (About 220 kilobytes)

Film Loop of Sun Rotating in
Visible Light and X Rays

Scientists actually use these exact images to study how our Sun changes. Explore for yourself!!


More info:

At the end of this tour is a link to the YPOP MOVIE PAGE, where you can check out more of these movies to see how our Sun rotates.


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Image Credits:
Yohkoh Science Team