Sun
The sun is a very interesting object. For one thing, it is not a planet like all the rest of the planets in the solar system. It is a star and is enormous compared to all the other planets. Almost 99.8% of all the mass in the solar system is taken up by the sun. Most of the rest is taken up by Jupiter. Our sun is not a very large star, compared to most other stars. But our sun is not that small either, as it is larger than the average size of the stars in our solar system. From a mythological point of view, the Romans who called the Sun “Helios” and the Greeks who called the Sun “Sol”.
A common question about the sun is
its source of fuel. It has been burning continuously for billions of years and
it will continue to burn for billions of years. Where does it get all its fuel
from? Basically, the sun keeps converting hydrogen to helium. All the energy
that the sun produces comes from this reaction. This is called nuclear fusion.
Here, the nuclei of two hydrogen atoms fuse together to form a helium atom.
Currently the sun would contain about 70% hydrogen and 28% helium. The rest is
all taken up by various metals.
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Spots and Wind
Sunspots are dark areas visible on
the sun’s surface. These areas are relatively cooler than other areas on the
sun’s surface. They are usually not more than 3800 K. No one really understands
how a sunspot is created and why it is there. Sunspots can be extremely large.
On the other hand, Solar wind is a type of wind found in outer space. It mainly
consists of electrons and protons and can reach speeds of about 450 km per
second. This wind originates from the sun. The auroras which are visible from
some parts on Earth are created by these solar winds.
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In brief a solar eclipse occurs when the moon comes in between the sun and the Earth and blocks the sun from view. When the moon completely blocks the sun from view, it is called a total eclipse. But this can only be seen from a very small area. A more widely visible eclipse is when the moon doesn’t completely block the sun from view. This is known as a partial eclipse. A solar Eclipse is quite rare, they happen hardly once or twice a year.
1. After 5 billion years, all the
hydrogen in the sun will be used up and the sun will be forced to take dramatic
changes which will lead to the doom of the Earth. But that’s another 5 billion
years away, so don’t worry!
2. Our sun’s age is like its size. It is neither too old or too young. The sun’s
age is about 4.5 billion years old, which may seem very old but nothing compared
to the 5 billion years of burning left ahead of it.
3. Temperatures on and in the sun can be very high. The surface of the sun alone
is 5800 K. Deeper inside it can rise all the way upto 15.6 millon Kelvin.
4. The sun’s rotation is very awkward. This is common in all gas planets. The
sun takes 25.4 earth days to rotates once at its center (equator). At the top
and the bottom it takes about 36 days.
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