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Basic Facts
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Average Distance From Earth |
92.957 million miles |
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Diameter |
864,950 miles |
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Age |
5 billion years |
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Mass |
1.99 million, trillion, trillion tons |
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Surface temperature |
10,900 degrees F |
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Core temperature |
27 million degrees F |
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Composition |
90% hydrogen, the rest is mostly helium |
The Sun Is Really White
Although the sun appears yellow when seen from Earth, it’s actually white!
We see the sunlight after it has been filtered through the Earth’s atmosphere.
The air scatters that blue component, making the sky appear blue and the
sunlight yellow.
 How Big Is the Sun?
The Sun is about 1.4 million km across. Inside, it could hold more than one
million planets the size of Earth! If you compare the Sun to some other stars in
the universe, it isn’t all that big. This picture shows the size of the sun
compared to one of the largest stars-Betelgeuse.
The Sun’s Gases
 Clouds of glowing gases often surround sunspots, hovering just above the sun’s
surface. These are called faculae. Huge loops of gas, called prominences, rise
up from the surface at speeds up to 375 miles per second (22,500 mph).
Explosions of radiation are called solar flares that are even more violent and
spectacular.
Inside the Sun
Inside the sun there is an atom hitting another atom every 0.13 seconds. But
if you were an atom, you wouldn’t hit another atom for one hundred years. It
takes more than a million years for energy from the Sun’s core to reach the
surface, but from there it only takes 8 minutes for it to get to Earth.
Core
Pairs of Hydrogen atoms are combined to form Helium atoms in a process known
as Nuclear Fusion. The Sun’s core is 27 times the diameter of Earth. Its
temperature is 27 million degrees F.
Radiation Zone
The matter near the center of the sun is packed so tightly that
energy-carrying atoms produced during the nuclear reactions have trouble finding
their way through. They bounce from particle to particle in a so-called
"random walk pattern". Heat produced in the core spreads through this
part in waves.
Convection Zone
Energy is carried from the Radiation Zone outward through the Convection
Zone. The Convection Zone carries the Sun’s energy up to the surface.
Photosphere
Here, smaller convection cells-up to 600 miles across-bubble up to the
surface with more energy, giving the surface of the Sun a grainy appearance. The
sunshine we see on Earth comes from the photosphere, which is the only part of
the sun we can see directly. The corona and flares are only visible during an
eclipse. The photosphere is the Sun’s surface.
Great Sun Videos
 We
found a great some with some incredible videos of the Sun. If you'd like
to check it out, click on the Sun to the right. A new window will open so
you can explore this great site. When you've finished, just close the
window and you'll be right back here to learn lots more!
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