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The Sun is a weakly variable star, and its actual luminosity therefore fluctuates. [3] The major fluctuation is the eleven-year solar cycle (sunspot cycle) that causes a quasi-periodic variation of about ±0.1%. Other variations over the last 200–300 years are thought to be much smaller than this. [4]
In contrast, the term brightness in astronomy is generally used to refer to an object's apparent brightness: that is, how bright an object appears to an observer. Apparent brightness depends on both the luminosity of the object and the distance between the object and observer, and also on any absorption of light along the path from object to ...
Along the ecliptic plane there are enhancements in the zodiacal light where it is much brighter near the Sun and with a secondary maximum opposite the Sun at 180 degrees longitude (the gegenschein). In extreme cases natural zenith sky brightness can be as high as ~21.0 mag/arcsec², roughly twice as bright as nominal conditions.
Scientists said the sun is now in its solar maximum, or the peak of its 11-year solar cycle. The sun is now in its solar maximum, meaning more aurora activity Skip to main content
World map showing the areas of Earth receiving daylight around 13:00 UTC in April. Daylight is the combination of all direct and indirect sunlight during the daytime.This includes direct sunlight, diffuse sky radiation, and (often) both of these reflected by Earth and terrestrial objects, like landforms and buildings.
In astronomy, a phase curve describes the brightness of a reflecting body as a function of its phase angle (the arc subtended by the observer and the Sun as measured at the body). The brightness usually refers the object's absolute magnitude , which, in turn, is its apparent magnitude at a distance of one astronomical unit from the Earth and Sun.
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Because energy transport in the Sun is a process that involves photons in thermodynamic equilibrium with matter, the time scale of energy transport in the Sun is longer, on the order of 30,000,000 years. This is the time it would take the Sun to return to a stable state if the rate of energy generation in its core were suddenly changed. [106]