Facts about the Sun
- The Sun is all the colours mixed together, this appears white to our eyes.
- The Sun is composed of hydrogen (70%) and Helium (28%).
- 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.
- The distance between the Earth and the Sun is an Astronomical Unit (AU)
- 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 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. ...
How well do you know basic facts about the Sun?
Sun Facts
- The radius of the Sun is approximately 432,450 miles (696,000 kilometers). ...
- 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. ...
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 5 interesting facts about 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 are 10 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 is one fun fact 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?
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.More items...
What are 3 good things about the sun?
Sunlight is essential for human health and well-being. The health benefits of sunlight include generating the production of vitamin D, supporting bone health, lowering blood pressure, preventing disease, and promoting good mental health.
What are five interesting facts about the sun for kids?
Fun Facts about the Sun for KidsThe Sun is over 4.5 billion years old. ... The temperature of the Sun is around 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. ... Some areas on the Sun's surface are cooler than others. ... Sometimes gases on the Sun's surface erupt, shooting far out into space. ... The Sun's light reaches the Earth in eight minutes.More items...
How did the sun get its name?
The word sun comes from the Old English word sunne, which itself comes from the older Proto-Germanic language's word sunnōn. In ancient times the Sun was widely seen as a god, and the name for Sun was the name of that god. Ancient Greeks called the Sun Helios, and this word is still used to describe the Sun today.
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.
Will the sun explode?
No supernova, no black hole Our sun isn't massive enough to trigger a stellar explosion, called a supernova, when it dies, and it will never become a black hole either. In order to create a supernova, a star needs about 10 times the mass of our sun.
What are 15 interesting facts 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 is our sun called?
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.
How does the sun never burn out?
The sun does not run out of oxygen for the simple fact that it does not use oxygen to burn. The burning of the sun is not chemical combustion. It is nuclear fusion.
Why is the Sun important?
The Sun is the single-most important factor that makes life on Earth possible. Since we owe our lives to this celestial illuminator, why not take some time to learn some facts about the Sun?
What is the Sun made of?
Or at least, parts of it do. The sun is comprised of 74%hydrogen and 24% helium (the remaining 2% contains trace amounts of elements like iron, nickel, and oxygen). Since it’s little more than a spinning ball of gas, some parts rotate faster than others.
How often do the magnetic poles of the Sun reverse?
Approximately every 11 years, the sun’s magnetic poles reverse their polarity. Magnetic north becomes magnetic south, and vice versa. Sound crazy? Sure, especially compared to Earth’s relatively stable magnetic poles. But considering the sun is a giant ball of constantly shifting gas and plasma, it shouldn’t be too surprising.
How much of the Sun's mass is held by Jupiter?
The sun holds 99.86% of the mass of our solar system (fun fact: most of the rest is held by Jupiter). For a bit of perspective, try to picture this: 109 Earths could fit on the surface, and over 1 million Earths could fit inside of it. As an illustration, consider: if the Earth were the size of a marble 1cm in diameter, the Sun would be abou 1.1 meters in diameter--the size of a large blow-up ball, like the kind you’d use in gym class.
How long will the Sun consume hydrogen?
...in a while. Remember how the Sun is currently made of of both hydrogenand helium? Scientists estimate that in another 5 billion years or so, it will consume all the hydrogen stored in its core, at which point helium will become the primary fuel.
Why does solar activity peak every 11 years?
The reason for the shift is connected to this follow-up fact: every 11 years or so, solar activity peaks in a time known as ‘solar maximum’. The sunspots that have been building up on the surface from the previous eleven years explode, sending clouds of gas known as “CMEs” jutting out into the solar system.
How long does it take for a sunspot to rotate?
By tracking the movement of sunspots, scientists found that equatorial regions take approximately 25 days to finish a single rotation, while sunspots at the poles can take 36 days to complete a rotation.
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.
How old is the Sun?
Our Sun is a 4.5 billion-year-old star – a hot glowing ball of hydrogen and helium at the center of our solar system. The Sun is about 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) from Earth, and without its energy, life as we know it could not exist here on our home planet.
How much bigger is the Sun than the Earth?
The Sun is about 100 times wider than Earth and about 10 times wider than Jupiter, the biggest planet. If the Sun were as tall as a typical front door, Earth would be about the size of a nickel.
What is the largest object in our solar system?
The Sun is the largest object in our solar system. The Sun’s volume would need 1.3 million Earths to fill it. Its gravity holds the solar system together, keeping everything from the biggest planets to the smallest bits of debris in orbit around it. The hottest part of the Sun is its core, where temperatures top 27 million degrees Fahrenheit (15 million degrees Celsius). The Sun ’s activity, from its powerful eruptions to the steady stream of charged particles it sends out, influences the nature of space throughout the solar system.
What is the only star in our solar system?
The Sun is the only star in our solar system. It is the center of our solar system, and its gravity holds the solar system together. Everything in our solar system revolves around it – the planets, asteroids, comets, and tiny bits of space debris.
What spacecraft monitors the Sun?
Sun-exploring spacecraft include Parker Solar Probe, Solar Orbiter, SOHO, ACE, IRIS, WIND, Hinode, Solar Dynamics Observatory, and STEREO.
What part of the Sun is the surface?
The part of the Sun we see from Earth – the part we call the surface – is the photosphere. The Sun doesn’t actually have a solid surface because it’s a ball of plasma.
What are some songs that are about the sun?
The Beatles had a hit in 1969 with “Here Comes the Sun.” Other popular songs that reference the Sun include: “Walkin’ on the Sun” by Smashmouth; “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers; “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves; “Pocketful of Sunshine” by Natasha Bedingfield; and “Let the Sunshine In” by the Fifth Dimension.
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 fast does the Sun travel?
The Sun travels at 220 kilometers per second. 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.
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 effect of the Sun on Earth?
The light of the Sun and its heat influence all of the objects in the solar system and allow life to exist on Earth. Without the sun, there is no life.
What is the temperature of the Sun's outer atmosphere?
Corona is the Sun’s outer atmosphere with temperatures that range from a few thousand kelvins to a few million kelvins.
How is sunlight produced?
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. Sunlight appears yellowish, but it is actually a combination of a rainbow of colors.
What is the Sun made of?
The Sun is mostly composed of hydrogen (70%) and Helium (28%).
How big is the Sun?
The Sun has a diameter of around 1.39 million kilometers / 864,000 miles. This is 109 times greater than the diameter of our planet. The Sun’s mass consists of 73% hydrogen, 25% helium, and smaller amounts of oxygen, carbon, neon, iron, and other elements. The Sun is so massive that it accounts for 99.86% of the total mass ...
What is the Sun for kids?
The Sun Facts for Kids. The Sun is a star, the only one we can see during the daytime. When we look in the night sky, we see endless dots of light, every one of them is a star just like our Sun.
How much of the Sun's mass is hydrogen?
The Sun is so massive that it accounts for 99.86% of the total mass of the entire Solar System. The Sun currently fuses around 600 million tons of hydrogen into helium every second. It is converting 4 million tons of matter into energy every second as a result. This energy is the source of the Sun’s light and heat.
How long will the Sun last before it becomes a white dwarf?
Scientists believe that the Sun is already at around halfway through its lifetime and will last for another 5 billion years before it will shrink down to become a white dwarf star.
Why is the Sun yellow?
We see it as yellow because of the Earth’s atmosphere. Many photos present the Sun as yellow, this is because we are very familiar with this color, however, from space, the Sun’s true color is white. The energy created by the Sun’s core is nuclear fusion. The Sun is almost a perfect sphere.
What is the origin of the word "sun"?
The English word “sun” developed from Old English “sunne.”. Many cultures throughout the world had solar deities in their religions and mythologies. The ancient Sumerians associated the Sun with Utu, the god of justice and twin brother of Inanna, the Queen of Heaven, who was identified as the planet, Venus.
Why did the solar nebula collapse?
The solar nebula collapsed due to its overwhelming gravity, it spun faster and flattened to a disk. Most of the material was pulled in the center to form our Sun, which accounts for 99.8% of the mass of the entire Solar System.
How long will the Sun last?
Currently, we’re into 5 billion years for our sun. It’s at the middle age of its life and has about 4 billion more years. Unlike red supergiants, our sun won’t become a supernova and will collapse into a white dwarf.
How long does it take for the Sun to reach Earth?
The mass of the sun takes a 99.86% weight of the solar system. It takes 8.3 minutes for sunlight to reach the Earth. The average distance from the Earth to the sun is 149.6 million kilometers. The sun is mostly Hydrogen (74%), Helium (24%) and other elements.
Why is the Sun the only planet known to harbor life?
The sun shines a healthy dose of solar radiation. Fusion reactions power the sun. The sun fuses hydrogen to helium releasing vast amounts of energy. It takes light 1 astronomical unit to reach us. It’s because of this solar energy that Earth is the only planet known to harbor life.
Why does the Sun's wind move closer to the Sun?
Solar wind swept in hydrogen and helium closer to the sun because these particles were smaller in size. The sun left just enough behind for gravity to build up other things like planets and moons. For example, heavier elements like iron and zinc coalesced to the core of Earth.
How many Earths are needed to fill up the Sun?
The sun is at the center of our solar system. And it’s so massive that it holds 99.9% of the total mass of the solar system. You’d need 1.3 million Earths to fill up the Sun. Or it would take nearly 1300 Jupiters to fit the sun! Here’s a video of the relative size of the Earth compared to the sun. Video Player.
What are the layers of the Sun?
The sun’s layers include the corona, chromosphere, photosphere, convection zone, radiative zone and core. It’s also composed of 72% hydrogen, 26% helium and 2% other gases. The corona extends millions of kilometers out into space. This fiery halo of charged particles that can reach temperatures of 2,000,000 K.
What is the process that powers the Sun?
Fusion reactions power the sun. The sun fuses hydrogen to helium releasing vast amounts of energy.
When was the Sun formed?
The Sun is the center of our entire solar system and has been since it was formed more than 4.6 billion years ago . However, we haven’t always known that the Sun was the center of our solar system. It wasn’t until the 16th Century with Copernicus’s “Heliocentric” model that it was accepted that the planets actually revolved around this giant star.
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.
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.
What is the color of the Sun?
The true color of the Sun is actually white, not yellow or orange, as it can appear to us from Earth. 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.
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 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).