![Image of the Sun against the darkness of space](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/soho-prominences-1920x640-1.jpg?w=4096&format=jpeg)
The Sun
The Sun is the star at the heart of our solar system. Its gravity holds the solar system together, keeping everything — from the biggest planets to the smallest bits of debris — in its orbit.
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Overview
The Sun's gravity holds the solar system together, keeping everything – from the biggest planets to the smallest particles of debris – in its orbit. The connection and interactions between the Sun and Earth drive the seasons, ocean currents, weather, climate, radiation belts and auroras. Though it is special to us, there are billions of stars like our Sun scattered across the Milky Way galaxy.
The Sun has many names in many cultures. The Latin word for Sun is “sol,” which is the main adjective for all things Sun-related: solar.
Pop Culture
The Sun has inspired us since ancient times. It’s central to mythology and religion in cultures around the world, including the ancient Egyptians, the Aztecs of Mexico, Native American tribes of North and South America, the Chinese, and many others.
Countless musicians have written songs about the Sun. The Beatles had a hit in 1969 with “Here Comes the Sun.” Other popular songs that reference the Sun include: “Walkin’ on the Sun” by Smashmouth; “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers; “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves; “Pocketful of Sunshine” by Natasha Bedingfield; and “Let the Sunshine In” by the Fifth Dimension.
If you're Superman or a fellow Kryptonian of comic book fame, your powers are heightened by the yellow glow of our Sun. There are several science fiction films featuring the Sun in the storyline.
Heliophysics Big Year
The Heliophysics Big Year is a global celebration of the Sun’s influence on Earth and the entire solar system.
Get Involved![The Sun appears as a mottled orange orb, with several bright regions of swirling plasma appearing in pink and purple. A bright white flash of light appears in the upper right.](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/sdo-131-171-x4pt5-flare-may-6-2024.jpg?w=4096&format=jpeg)
How NASA Tracked the Most Intense Solar Storm in Decades
May 2024 has already proven to be a particularly stormy month for our Sun. During the first full week of…
Read the Story![An image of the Sun shows a bright flash in the bottom right side where a solar flare erupts.](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/sdo-x5pt8-flare-0122ut-may-11-2024-171-193-131.jpg?w=4096&format=jpeg)
Sun Stories
![ICON, shown in this artist’s concept, studied the frontiers of space, the dynamic zone high in our atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above.](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/img-6957.gif?w=4096&format=png)
NASA’s ICON Mission Ends with Several Ionospheric Breakthroughs
![An image with bright light originating from the North pole of the Sun.](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/highlight-submissions-soho-cme-image-carolyn-y-ng.gif?w=4096&format=png)
Celebrate the Heliophysics Big Year with Free Heliophysics and Math Webinars from NASA HEAT
![Seen against a black background, a long filament extends off the Sun. The Sun is in reds and yellows. The filament is thing and extends off the Sun, against the black background.](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/sdo-304-171-solar-filament.jpg?w=4096&format=jpeg)
NASA Mission to Study Mysteries in the Origin of Solar Radio Waves