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Astronomy basics > Fast Facts: The Sun
| Age | About 4.5 billion years |
| Location | Our solar system is on the edge of a spiral arm called Orion's Arm, and is one-half to two-thirds of the way (28,000 light-years) from the center of our Milky Way galaxy. |
| Average distance from Earth | 1 astronomical unit (AU), which equals 149,600,000 km (92,960,000 miles) |
| Diameter | 1,390,000 kilometers (863,700 miles) |
| Mass | 1.99 x 1030 kg |
| Distinguishing features | The Sun, an ordinary star, contains more than 99.8% of the total mass of our solar system. |
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Solar flares on our sun's surface
(Image courtesy of NASA) |
Astronomy basics > Fast Facts: The Sun