Facts about the Sun
- One million Earths could fit inside the Sun. ...
- The Sun contains 99.86% of the mass in the Solar System. ...
- The Sun is an almost perfect sphere. ...
- The Sun will consume the Earth. ...
- The Sun will one day be about the size of Earth. ...
- The temperature inside the Sun can reach 15 million degrees Celsius. ...
- Light from the Sun takes eight minutes to reach Earth. ...
- The Sun accounts for 99.86% of the mass in the solar system. ...
- Over one million Earths could fit inside the Sun. ...
- One day the Sun will consume the Earth. ...
- The energy created by the Sun's core is nuclear fusion. ...
- The Sun is almost a perfect sphere.
What are five interesting facts about the Sun?
This involves going outside on a sunny day, getting completely naked, lying on your back, hooking your hands behind both knees, and pulling back to let the sunlight shine on an area of the body where, we had been previously assured, the sun don’t shine.
What are some of the Amazing Facts about our Sun?
Sun Facts
- There wouldn’t be any life on Earth without the Sun. ...
- The Sun’s gravity is what keeps the Earth and other planets that make the solar system in orbit around it.
- The Sun accounts for 99.8% of the mass of our solar system.
- The two main gases that make up the Sun are helium and hydrogen. ...
What are some bad things about the Sun?
Path to improved health
- Use sunscreen. The higher the SPF, the more it will protect against UV rays. The FDA suggests using SPF 15 or greater. ...
- Plan your exposure. Avoid direct sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. ...
- Take breaks. Too much sun exposure is harmful. Go inside, get in the shade, or use an umbrella.
- Cover up. Wear clothing and hats to protect your skin from UV rays. ...
What are some interesting things about the Sun?
More Facts about the Sun
- The Sun is actually a star. ...
- We classify the Sun as a G-type main sequence star, and a yellow dwarf star.
- Billions of years in the future, the Sun will actually grow to absorb Mercury, Venus and even our planet Earth.
- After this growth, the Sun will run out of hydrogen. ...
What are 10 fun facts about the sun?
Ten Interesting Facts About the SunThe Sun is the Solar System. ... And the Sun is mostly hydrogen and helium. ... The Sun is pretty bright. ... The Sun is huge, but tiny. ... The Sun is middle aged. ... The Sun has layers. ... The Sun is heating up, and will kill all life on Earth. ... Different parts of the Sun rotate at different speeds.More items...•
What are 3 interesting facts about the sun?
Here are more fun facts about the sun, provided by the NASA Science Space Place:The sun is a star. ... The sun is the closest star to our planet, which is why we see the sun so big and bright.The Earth orbits around the sun.The sun is way bigger than the Earth. ... It's hot!! ... The sun is 93 million miles away from the Earth.More items...•
What is interesting about the sun?
The sun lies at the heart of the solar system, where it is by far the largest object. It holds 99.8% of the solar system's mass and is roughly 109 times the diameter of the Earth — about one million Earths could fit inside the sun.
What are 12 interesting facts do you know about the Sun?
Fun Facts About the SunThe Sun accounts for 99.86% of the mass in the solar system. ... Over one million Earths could fit inside the Sun. ... One day the Sun will consume the Earth. ... The energy created by the Sun's core is nuclear fusion. ... The Sun is almost a perfect sphere.More items...
What's the Sun's real name?
The Sun has been called by many names. The Latin word for Sun is “sol,” which is the main adjective for all things Sun-related: solar. Helios, the Sun god in ancient Greek mythology, lends his name to many Sun-related terms as well, such as heliosphere and helioseismology.
Why is the Sun unique?
Our Sun is a little unusual because it doesn't have any friends. It's just one Sun surrounded by planets, asteroids, comets, and dwarf planets. But solar systems can have more than one sun. In fact, that's often the case.
How many Suns are there?
There Is Only One Sun The word “sun” is often used to describe many multitudes of stars in our galaxy and beyond, but doing so is a misnomer. The Sun is the name of our star, just as Sirius is the brightest star in Canis Major.
How hot is the Sun?
The surface of the Sun is very hot, and on average is around 5,500°c. However, this is nowhere near as hot as the Sun gets in its center, where temperatures can be in excess of 15,000,000°c.
What is the Sun made of?
The Sun is approximately 74% hydrogen, 24% helium, 1.5% carbon and a trace amount of other gases. The two gas giant planets, Jupiter and Saturn, are also made up primarily of Hydrogen and Helium. This leads some astronomers to call them “failed stars”.
How powerful is the Sun's gravity?
The gravity of the surface of the Sun is around 28x as powerful as the gravity of Earth. The name Sun, unlike the planets which are from Roman and Greek mythology, actually comes from old English. Like any other star, the Sun is made up primarily of hydrogen, with a less amount of helium.
Why do planets orbit the Sun?
The main thing to understand about why the planets orbit the Sun is that they are still moving. If the Sun wasn’t there, they would be still be moving in a direction, like the objects out in the Oort cloud that aren’t as affected by the gravity of the Sun.
How long does it take for the Sun to rotate?
This means that different points on the Sun will actually rotate at different times and speeds. If we look at the Sun’s equator, this rotates fully every 24-25 days. But at the top and bottom of the Sun (the North and South pole), this can take 36 days to rotate fully.
How long does it take light to travel from the Sun to Earth?
It takes approximately 499 seconds for light to travel all the way from the Sun to the Earth. We use the AU, or astronomical unit, measurement system when talking about distances in our galaxy. This is the distance between the Sun and Earth, around 93 million miles (150 million kilometers).
When did astronomers start to believe that the Sun was the center of the universe?
It wasn’t until Copernicus published On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres in the 15th century that astronomers started to accept that the Sun was actually the center of the solar system.
How big is the Sun?
The Sun is a main-sequence G2V star (or Yellow Dwarf). The Sun is 109 times wider than the Earth and 330,000 times as massive. The Sun’s surface area is 11,990 times that of the Earth’s. A hollow Sun would fit around 960,000 spherical Earths.
What is the Sun?
The Sun is the star at the centre of our solar system. It is an almost perfect sphere of super-hot gases whose gravity holds the solar system together. The energy produced by the Sun is essential for life on Earth and is a driving force behind the Earth’s weather.
What is the Sun's magnetic field?
The Sun has a very strong magnetic field. Magnetic energy released by the Sun during magnetic storms causes solar flares. We see these as sunspots. In sunspots, the magnetic lines twist and they spin, much like a tornado would on Earth. The Sun generates solar wind. The wind is a stream of charged particles.
How fast does solar wind travel?
This travels at approximately 450 kilometres per second through the solar system. Solar wind occurs when the magnetic field of the Sun extends into space. Sol is the Latin for Sun. This is where the word “solar” comes from, which is used to describe things that are derived from, related to, or caused by the Sun.
What happens when the Sun burns all its hydrogen?
The Sun will consume the Earth. When the Sun has burned all its Hydrogen, it will continue to burn helium for 130 million more years. During this time, it will expand to the point that it will engulf Mercury, Venus, and the Earth. At this stage it will have become a red giant.
How many Earths can fit in the Sun?
One million Earths could fit inside the Sun. A hollow Sun would fit around 960,000 spherical Earths. If squished inside with no wasted space, then around 1,300,000 would fit inside. The Sun’s surface area is 11,990 times that of the Earth’s. The Sun contains 99.86% of the mass in the Solar System.
Why are sunspots darker than surrounding areas?
Sunspots are areas of the Sun’s surface that appear darker than the surrounding areas, this is because they are cooler. They form in areas of strong magnetic activity that inhibit heat transfer.
What are some interesting facts about the Sun?
Here are some fascinating sun facts for kids: There wouldn’t be any life on Earth without the Sun. The Sun causes seasons, currents in the oceans, weather, and climates, among other phenomena. The Sun’s gravity is what keeps the Earth and other planets that make the solar system in orbit around it.
What is the Sun made of?
The Sun is a huge luminous object made from hydrogen and helium. It’s a main-sequence star or yellow dwarf star. It produces heat, energy, and photons. The Sun is at the center of our solar system. It’s the closest star to Earth, and it sustains life on Earth. Here are some interesting and fun facts about our Sun:
What are the two gases that make up the Sun?
The Sun accounts for 99.8% of the mass of our solar system. The two main gases that make up the Sun are helium and hydrogen. The composition of the Sun is 91% helium and 8.9% helium. Hydrogen accounts for 70.6% of the Sun’s mass, and helium accounts for 27.4%. The remaining 0.1% is a combination of different metals.
How does the Sun emit light?
The Sun emits light in the form of photons. Photons are particles that carry electromagnetic energy. The core represents 2% of the Sun’s volume, but almost half of its mass. It has a density of 15 times the density of lead. The reactions that happen in the Sun’s core create light and energy.
What causes the Sun to have a magnetic field?
The Sun has a strong magnetic field. This field causes differences in temperatures on the surface of the Sun as well as solar flares. The Sun sometimes ejects plasma from its surface. Plasma can travel at speeds of 450 km per second and causes solar wind.
What kind of radiation does the Sun emit?
The Sun emits different kinds of electromagnetic radiation. Visible light, ultraviolet rays, and infrared rays make up 99% of those radiations. A giant cloud of gas collapsed on itself to form the Sun approximately 4.5 billion years ago.
How long does it take for photons to reach the Sun?
The reactions that happen in the Sun’s core create light and energy. Photons travel away from the core, and it can take them up to a million years to reach the surface of the Sun. The Sun is the largest object in our solar system. However, its size is average compared to other stars.
Why is the Sun important to life?
Sun is the reason life exists on Earth it is also responsible for the different seasons we experience on Earth. This article lists 30 Interesting and Fun Facts about The Sun that even kids will enjoy. The Sun is a star that is in the center of the Solar System. The Sun accounts for about 99.86% of the total mass of the Solar System.
How old is the Sun?
The Sun accounts for about 99.86% of the total mass of the Solar System. The Sun is mostly composed of hydrogen (70%) and Helium (28%). The Sun is 4.6 billion years old. The Sun has circled the Milky Way galaxy more than 18 times during its 4.6-billion-year lifetime. The Sun is the closest star to Earth.
What are the two types of radiation from the Sun?
Radiations of the Sun are in two forms, electromagnetic (photons) and particle (electrons, protons, alpha particles , etc.) radiation. In addition to heat and light, the Sun also emits a low-density stream of charged particles (mostly electrons and protons) known as the solar wind which propagates throughout the solar system at about 450 km/sec.
What is the atmosphere of the Sun?
The atmosphere of the Sun is composed of three areas: the photosphere, chromosphere, and solar corona. The visible part of the Sun is called the photosphere. Corona is the Sun’s outer atmosphere with temperatures that range from a few thousand kelvins to a few million kelvins.
Why is the Sun closer to Earth than all other stars?
The Sun is so much closer to Earth than all other stars are that the intense light of the Sun keeps us from seeing any other stars during the day. 1.3 million Earths could fit inside the sun. In just one second the Sun emits more energy than humans have used in the last 10,000 years.
What is the color of the sun?
Sunlight appears yellowish, but it is actually a combination of a rainbow of colors. Solar flares from the Sun are sudden bursts of brightness that happen in places near the sunspots. Solar flares produce bursts of electromagnetic radiation, x-rays, ultraviolet radiation, visible light, and radio waves.
How is the Sun's core produced?
The Sun’s core is around 13600000 degrees Celsius. Sunlight is produced through nuclear reactions in the sun’s core. Originally born as energetic gamma rays, after billions of collisions with matter, this radiation reaches the surface and escapes into space.
1. The Sun is seriously hot stuff
The Sun is a star and the heart of our solar system. The heavenly body is made up of 28% helium and 70% hydrogen. The surface of the Sun (what people can see) is 5,500 degrees Celsius. But the core can actually exceed 15 million degrees Celsius!
4. The Sun is always on the move
Right now, the distance between the Sun and the galactic center is roughly 25,000 light -years. It’s not stationary. It is moving at a speed of 220 km every second. It completes one orbit of the center of the galaxy every 250 million years.
8. The Sun is older than we can possibly imagine
The Sun’s is roughly 4.5 billion years old! That seems like a long time. But in truth, half of the Sun’s life is gone. It has 5 billion more years to go, after which it won’t be the yellow dwarf star we know today.
9. The Sun will eventually die
Even though you can fit one million Earths inside the Sun today, at some future point in time, the Sun will collapse in on itself, becoming roughly the size of our planet.
10. The Sun will destroy the Earth – eventually!
The Sun is slowly growing hotter. Around one billion years from now, it will grow so hot that all life on Earth will be extinguished. In 7.6 billion years, the Sun will expand, too – engulfing the Earth along with Mercury and Venus!
What is the main purpose of the Sun?
The Sun’s main role is - of course - to give us all light and warmth, and therefore stimulate life.
How many Suns are there in the universe?
The Sun is a star - and there are more than an estimated 200 billion of those across the unexplored universe!