What celestial body does Ra represent?

The story behind the answer

Ra represents the Sun. In Egyptian myth, he sails across the sky each day in his solar barque, bringing light and order, and travels through the underworld at night to be reborn at dawn. His solar disk crowns many depictions, and pharaohs were called “sons of Ra,” linking royal authority to his life-giving power.

Context helps memory: think “Ra = ray,” as in sunray. By contrast, the Moon was tied to Khonsu (and sometimes Thoth), and the Earth to Geb—so Ra is the solar deity. Ra also merges with other gods (Ra-Horakhty, Atum-Ra), reflecting the centrality of the Sun in creation and kingship. His nightly battle with the chaos serpent Apophis symbolized the perpetual triumph of order over chaos.