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The Sun is our closest star. It is a member of the Milky Way galaxy. The diameter of the Sun is 1,392,000 kilometers.
It is believed to be over 4 billion years old. The Sun is a medium
sized star known as a yellow dwarf. The
Sun spins slowly on its axis as it revolves around the galaxy.
The Sun is a large ball of gas consisting mostly
of hydrogen and helium. The Sun is about 109 times larger
than Earth.
The center, or core, of the Sun is very hot. The
temperature in its core is estimated to be over 15,000,000 degrees
Celsius. A process called "nuclear fusion"
takes place there. Nuclear fusion produces a lot of energy. Some of this
energy travels out into space as heat and light. Some of it reaches the
Earth!
We can see storms on the Sun's surface called as "sunspots"
because they look like dark spots on the Sun's surface. The Sun also produces
big explosions of energy called solar flares. These flares shoot fast moving
particles off the Sun's surface. These particles can hit the Earth's atmosphere
and cause a glow called an Aurora.
The Sun has several layers: the core, the radiation zone, the convection zone, and the photosphere
(which is the surface of the Sun). In addition, there are two layers of gas
above the photosphere called the chromosphere and the corona. The following are
the events that occur on the Sun frequently: sunspots, solar flares, solar wind,
and solar prominences.
Without the Sun, the Earth would be a lifeless ball of rock
and ice. The Sun warms our planet, creates our weather, and gives energy to
plants providing food and energy to support life on Earth. The Sun is a large
ball of gas consisting mostly of hydrogen and helium. The Sun is about 109 times
larger than the Earth. Scientists estimate that the temperature at the center of
the Sun is about 15 million degrees Celsius. This is similar to exploding a
hydrogen, or nuclear, bomb. Large explosions on the Sun's surface cause solar
flares that shoot up high into space. The surface temperature is about 4000
degrees Celsius. Energy released from the Sun radiates in all directions,
reaching the Earth and other planets. The further the planet is from the Sun,
the less energy it receives. |
