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Solar mass

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	Solar mass
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	Topics Solar mass Topic Home The solar mass is a standard way to express massMass Mass is a property of a physical object that quantifies the amount of matter and energy it is equivalent to.... in astronomyAstronomy Astronomy is the science of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere .... , used to describe the masses of other starStar A star is a massive, compact body of plasma in outer space that is held together by its own gravity and, unlike a planet, is... s and galaxiesGalaxy A galaxy is a huge gravitationally bound system of stars, interstellar gas and dust, plasma, and unseen dark matter.... . It is equal to the mass of the SunSun \|+ The Sun \|+\|-\| colspan="2" align="center" \| \|-... , about two nonillionNames of large numbers The "standard dictionary numbers"Throughout this article, exponential or scientific notation is used.... kilogramKilogram The kilogram or kilogramme, is the SI base unit of mass.... s or about 332,950 times the mass of the EarthEarth Earth is the third planet in the solar system in terms of distance from the Sun, and the fifth largest.... , or 1048 times the mass of JupiterJupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest within the solar system.... . Its conventional symbol and value are: The solar mass can be determined from the length of the year, the distance of the Earth to the Sun (the astronomical unitAstronomical unit The astronomical unit is a unit of length.... ) (AU), and the gravitational constantGravitational constant According to the law of universal gravitation, the attractive force between two bodies is proportional to the product of their mas... (G) as . Until recently, neither the AU nor the gravitational constant was precisely known. However, a determination of the relative mass of another planet in the Solar SystemSolar System The Solar System or solar system is the stellar system comprising the Sun and the retinue of celestial objects gravita... or of a binary starBinary star A binary star is a stellar system consisting of two stars orbiting around their center of mass.... in units of solar masses does not depend on these poorly known constants. So it was useful to express these masses in units of solar masses (see Gaussian gravitational constantGaussian gravitational constant Carl Friedrich Gauss expressed the gravitational constant in units of the solar system rather than SI units.... ). Today, the AU is extremely well measured using interplanetary radar and G is well measured, but the solar mass persists as one of astronomy's arcane historical conventionsConvention (norm) A convention is a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted social norms, norms, standards or criteria, often taking t... . Solar mass and related units One Solar mass can be converted to related units: 27 068 510 Lunar massLunar mass Lunar mass is the unit of mass equal to that of the Moon.... (M_L) 332 946 Earth massEarth mass Earth mass is the unit of mass equal to one Earth.... (M_?) 1047.56 Jupiter massJupiter mass Jupiter mass is the unit of mass equal to one Jupiter Jupiter mass is used to describe masses of the gas giants, such as th... (M_J) It is also common in general relativityGeneral relativity General relativity is the geometrical theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915.... to express mass in units of length. See also Chandrasekhar limitChandrasekhar limit The Chandrasekhar limit is the maximum mass possible for a white dwarf star supported by electron degeneracy pressure, and ... Gaussian gravitational constantGaussian gravitational constant Carl Friedrich Gauss expressed the gravitational constant in units of the solar system rather than SI units.... Orders of magnitude (mass)Orders of magnitude (mass) To help compare different orders of magnitude, the following list describes various mass levels between 3.6 kg and 1.6 k... The SunSun \|+ The Sun \|+\|-\| colspan="2" align="center" \| \|-...