Sun|Trek Adventures Solar Surface Hot Solar Atmosphere Magnetic Sun Flowing from the Sun
Sun Earth Connection Solar Spacecraft Earth and Beyond The Sun as a Star
  Sun as a star
Closer look at the Sun
Scale of the Sun
The Earth and Sun The Sun's vital statistics
The Sun and other Stars
Up Arrow
  the Sun's vital statistics
Down Arrow
  what colour is the Sun?
  how hot is the Sun?
  how bright is the Sun?
  how big is the Sun?
  what's the mass of the Sun?
  how old is the Sun?
  what is the Sun made of?
  does the Sun rotate?

does the Sun rotate?

     

Yes, the Sun does rotate, but it doesn't spin like a solid ball - maybe because it isn't one.

 
Explore Suntrek Adventures

There’s lots to discover on Sun|trek, so dive in and
start exploring here.

 

We can’t do your home work for you, but if you have a question about the Sun you can always
ask the Sun|trek team

 

 

Check out our
Images & Movies gallery

Suntrek movie and still gallery

Join us on
Suntrek on Facebook

 

 

Content on this page requires a newer version of Adobe Flash Player.

Get Adobe Flash player

The Sun takes about 26 day to make one rotation at its equator.

Here are some speeded up movies taken in the utraviolet wavelength range with the EIT instrument on the SOHO satellite. They show the Sun at the minimum of solar activity of the left hand side and at maximum of solar activity on the right hand side.

To find out more about the hot solar atmosphere follow this link.

 

 

Content on this page requires a newer version of Adobe Flash Player.

Get Adobe Flash player

 

 

 

 

When the speed of rotation varies like this, we say the object has 'differential rotation'. Nobody really understands fully why differential rotation happens on the Sun, but if it happened on the Earth it'd look something like this. mouse over arrow

 
     
 

 

More Vital Statistics

 

what colour is the Sun? | how hot is the Sun? | how bright is the Sun?
how big is the Sun? | what's the mass of the Sun?

how old is the Sun | what is the Sun made of?

 
   

 

   
   
 
 

Sun|trek homepage | Sun|trek Adventures | Solar Surface & Below | Hot Solar Atmosphere | Magnetic Sun | Flowing From The Sun

Sun/Earth Connection | Solar Spacecraft | Earth & Beyond | The Sun our Star | Factary | Gallery | Hot News | Contact Us