A picture of the Sun's sunspots and itself. (Courtesy to Microsoft Encarta for this photograph.)

The Sun is the center of our Solar System. So far it has lived for 4.5 billion years, or so we think. If provides us with the energy to live either directly or indirectly. The Sun seems to be larger than all of the other stars in the sky, except that it really is fairly small. It just seems larger to us because it is so much closer to our planet Earth than the other stars are. Because it is so close to us that we get to study it more closely to get a wider picture of what stars are like.

The Sun emits a stable amount of energy towards us never varying more than a few tenths of a percent. Energy is made inside of the Sun like all stars, by converting elements to heavier elements in a process known as nuclear fusion. Our Sun is made up of about 71% hydrogen, 27% helium, and 2% heavier material. Because hydrogen is the simplest form of matter in the universe, there is more of it than any other known element. Inside of the Sun, hydrogen is converted into helium and then from helium into heavier elements. The pressure and the heat inside of the Sun which is about 29,000,000° F mainly cause this! The nuclear fusion then releases energy and it is then emitted to keep gravity from pushing the Sun's outsides inward.

Most of the time, the sun expels radiation and magnetic waves, but every 20 years or so, a solar storm occurs. A solar storm is a sudden wave of strong magnetic waves. These magnetic waves can knock out satellites leaving many people's pagers and wireless devices unable to function. These waves also have a more pleasant side too. When you are at the Arctic Circle or the Antarctic Circle, you may get to see the Northern Lights or the Southern Lights. These are also known as aurora borealis (Northern Lights) and aurora australis (Southern Lights). The magnetic waves and particles entering the atmosphere cause this kind of phenomenon.