The Sun revolves around the barycenter, the center of mass of the solar system, and also around the center of the Milky Way. Rotation refers to an object’s movement around its axis, while revolution refers to its orbit around another object or point.
Since the earliest times of recorded history, the question of which astronomical body rotates the Sun has been a point of contention among astronomers, scientists, and laymen alike. Even today, many people still mistakenly believe that the Sun revolves around the earth or on its own axis. The question of what goes around the Sun, however, has two correct answers based on the definition of the word goes around. The Sun revolves around a point in our solar system called the barycenter, which is the center of mass of the solar system, just as it revolves around the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way.
The word “revolution” refers to the movement of an object around another object or around a point. It is similar to and often used interchangeably and confused with “to rotate”, but in astronomy the two words have different meanings. Rotation describes the rotation of an object around a line that passes through the object called an axis. “Wheel” is another word for turning. “Revolution” means to orbit. The Earth rotates on its axis, but rotates around the Sun.
The center of mass of a system of astronomical bodies is called the centroid. This is the point around which all the planets and other bodies in our solar system, such as comets and asteroids, revolve. The gravitational attraction between the Sun and other objects in the solar system causes the Sun to rotate around the center of gravity. This motion is very slight when viewed in the context of the entire solar system, so slight in fact that in solar system models showing the motion of the planets around the sun, the revolution of the sun around the barycenter is essentially indistinguishable because the barycenter is very close at the center of the Sun itself.
The Sun and the solar system also revolve around the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way. The period of this revolution is extremely long, taking about 200 million years. No one is certain what lies at the center of the galaxy, however, this aspect of the question of what revolves around the Sun has no clear answer. Many astronomers believe that at the center of many galaxies, including ours, there are huge black holes, but this theory has not been proven.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
