Solar mass ($M_{\odot }$)

A solar mass (often denoted as \( M_\odot \)) is a standard unit of mass used in astronomy to measure the mass of stars and other astronomical objects. It is defined as the mass of the Sun, which is approximately \( 1.989 \times 10^{30} \) kilograms (or about \( 333,000 \) times the mass of Earth).