Facts on the Sun

The quest to know the space or void that surrounds the planet and the celestial bodies that intrigue man by their shimmer and movements have led scientists to delve deep into the study of the universe, with the support of harnessed technology. Research reveals that the Sun is average in size and features, compared to the million others that just appear small in the night sky due to their proximity to earth. The Sun is the center of our galaxy and is made up of hot gases that comprise elements like calcium, hydrogen, helium, sodium, iron and magnesium.

The Sun is a big star that simply looks small in the sky because it is approximately 93 million miles or 150 million km away. While the Earth is about 13 thousand kilometers across, the sun is 1.4 million kilometers and the difference in size between the Earth and the Sun is better understood with the calculation that it would take more than a million Earths to fill the Sun, if possible! Considering that a beam of sunlight takes approximately 8 minutes to reach us, scientists have calculated that it would take man about a hundred and seventy six years to reach the sun; this is in conjunction to the speeds we allow ourselves on the planet.

Although actually weighing the Sun with a scale is impossible, scientists compute its weight with the understanding that it contains the same material mass that is weighable in our solar system. Certain comparisons and the updated study that the Sun is over 300,000 times heavier than Earth, defines an approximate gravitational pull and the weight increase factor. The Sun has no solid surface! The Sun is estimated to be more than four billion years old. In comparison to the time frame within which earliest evidence of life forms on the planet have been recorded, the Big Bang seemed to have taken place much, much earlier. And, the Sun is not expected to change in form or size at least another 5 billion years.

Once the hydrogen exhausts, or burns out, scientists expect this Center of the Galaxy to enter a new phase of existence, burning out the helium component next. The burning of helium will result in the expansion of the star to nearly 100 times its current size! The prediction and study reveals that the resultant Red Giant will then collapse into a smaller White Dwarf! The temperature in the center of the Sun is nothing less than 10 million degrees. The visible surface is only about 5800 degrees. The outer atmosphere of the burning sphere is extremely hot - nearly 2 million degrees! The temperature variations are very intriguing.

The sun is too bright to behold with the naked eye. The Sun emits Ultra-Violet harmful radiation, which does much damage to the human skin and eyes. Over exposure to the Ultra-Violet radiation causes skin cancer. In spite of the radiation, the fact is that without the Sun, Earth would be a frozen and dark, lifeless ball. The planet would simply be adrift in the void beyond. The Sun provides us with life-sustaining light, heat and energy. The ozone layer in the atmosphere functions like an umbrella and shields us from harmful ultraviolet radiation emitted by the Sun. This filters in just the right amount of heat and light required for our sustenance.

Knowledge about the star at the center of our galaxy enriches our understanding of other stars and the universe in which we live. The colorful Aurora that appears as curtains of light in the night sky near the poles is caused by the energized particles emitted by the Sun trapped within the atmosphere close to the planet. The Sun is a very active star. It keeps ejecting material into space, some of which collides with our planet too, and hits our atmosphere. The position and features of this great, big ball of fire at the center of the galaxy seem to be in place to sustain life forms and enrich our lives.