πͺ Space and stars πͺ The Sun and planets
Sun
π In short
The Sun is a star, a huge ball of glowing, very hot gases at the center of the solar system, with Earth and the other planets going around it. It's an ordinary star among billions, but it's the most important to us: without its light and heat there would be no life on Earth.
π€© Did you know?
- The Sun's mass is about 333 thousand times the Earth's.
- The Sun is about 150 million kilometers from Earth.
- The Sun's surface is about 5500 degrees, and its core millions of degrees.
- The Sun is about 4.6 billion years old.
π Find out more
π An energy factory
In the Sun's core, hydrogen atoms join to make helium, releasing huge amounts of energy that leave the Sun as light and heat and reach Earth in about 8 minutes.
π Enormous
The Sun is much bigger than the Earth: it's more than a hundred times wider, and could hold more than a million Earths!
π‘ Why does it look small?
In the sky the Sun looks about the size of the Moon, because it's very far away, about 150 million kilometers. If you flew there in a plane, it would take about twenty years!
π― Protect your eyes and skin
Never look straight at the Sun. And wear a hat and sunscreen when you play for a long time in strong sun.
πΈ More pictures
𧩠Test yourself
1 What is the Sun?
2 How long does sunlight take to reach Earth?
3 The Sun's mass is about ?? thousand times the Earth's.
4 Which picture shows βSunβ?
πͺ Discover more
π· Picture sources: Wikimedia Commons
- MatΓΊΕ‘ Motlo Β· CC BY-SA 4.0
- W.carter Β· CC BY-SA 4.0
