The Sun: 10 Fascinating Facts About our Solar System’s Star

KOMPAS.com – The sun is a star more than 4.6 billion years old which is about 150 million kilometers from Earth.

Reported National Geographicthe Sun is composed of a combination of gases, in the form of plasma, that is blazing.

Plasma is matter similar to gas, but with mostly ionized particles. This means the particle has an increasing or decreasing number of electrons.

The sun is made up of layers made up almost entirely of hydrogen and helium. These gases perform different functions in each layer.

Also read: 4 Types of Solar Eclipse Phenomena, What Are They?

About three-quarters of the sun is hydrogen, which is constantly combining and creating helium through a process called nuclear fusion.

Helium makes up most of the rest. A very small percentage, about 1.69 percent, of the sun’s mass is made up of gases and other metals.

The sun orbits clockwise around the center of the Milky Way. Its orbit is between 24,000 and 26,000 light years from the galactic center.

The sun takes about 225 million to 250 million years to make one orbit around the center of the galaxy.

In addition, the Sun rotates on its own axis, just like the Earth. It takes between 25 and 35 days to complete one round.

Also read: 7 Layers of the Sun, Some Have Temperatures Reaching 15 Million Degrees Celsius

Facts about the sun

Quoted from the page NASAhere are some interesting facts about the Sun to know:

1. A hundred times the size of the earth

The sun is about 100 times wider than Earth and about 10 times wider than Jupiter, which is the largest planet.

In comparison, if the Sun were as high as your front door, the Earth would look the size of a coin.

2. Stars in the solar system

The sun is the only star in the solar system. It is the center whose gravity holds the solar system together.

Everything in the solar system revolves around the Sun, including planets, asteroids, comets and small pieces of space debris.

Also read: Get to Know the Sun, a 4.5 Billion Years Old Star

3. Day in the Sun

Measuring a “day” on the Sun is tricky because of the way it rotates. It does not rotate as one solid ball.

This is because the surface of the Sun is not as solid as Earth’s, but instead is made of superheated electrically charged gas called plasma.

This plasma rotates at a different speed in each part of the Sun. At the equator, one revolution equals 25 Earth days. At the poles, the Sun rotates once every 36 Earth days.

Also read: How Hot Is It on the Sun? Here’s the explanation

4. It has no solid surface

The part of the Sun that is visible from Earth, or the part that is often referred to as the surface, is the photosphere. Because the sun does not actually have a solid surface.

As mentioned earlier, the surface of the Sun is not solid like Earth’s, but is made of superheated electrically charged gas called plasma.

5. The atmosphere is dynamic

Above the surface of the Sun there is a thin chromosphere and a very large corona (crown).

This is where features such as solar prominences, flares, and coronal mass ejections are seen. The last two are gigantic bursts of energy and particles that can reach Earth.

Also read: Why is the Air on the Mountain Cold when it’s Closer to the Sun?

6. Has no moon

The sun has no moons or satellites, but it is orbited by eight planets, five (approved) dwarf planets, tens of thousands of asteroids, and even three trillion comets and icy bodies.

7. Observed stars

Several spacecraft currently investigating the Sun include Parker Solar Probe, STEREO, Solar Orbiter, SOHO, Solar Dynamics Observatory, Hinode, IRIS, and Wind.

8. Sun Dust

The sun was surrounded by a disk of gas and dust early in its history when the solar system first formed 4.6 billion years ago.

Some of that dust is still there today, in some of the dust rings surrounding the Sun.

Also read: Is Pluto a Planet? Here’s the explanation

9. Source of life

Nothing can live on the Sun, but it is a source of life because its energy is essential for most life on Earth.

10. The hottest thing

The temperature at the core of the Sun is about 15 million degrees Celsius, which is hot enough to sustain nuclear fusion.

This creates external pressure that supports the giant mass of the star, keeping it from collapsing.

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2023-07-10 10:15:00
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