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The Sun

Does the Sun spin?

The Sun does indeed spin, rotating about its axis from west to east, the same direction that the planets orbit around the Sun. Since the Sun is not a solid object but rather a big ball of electrically charged gas, it spins at different speeds depending on the latitude. The Sun spins once around its axis near its equator in about twenty-five days, and in about thirty-five days near its north and south poles. This kind of spinning, in which different parts move at different speeds, is called differential rotation.



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