Everything you ever wanted to know about the SUN! (that won’t be covered under another topic, later)

Facts about the sun... Sun size: 864,938 miles (1,391,980 km). (~ 109 times as wide as Earth, 1,295,000 Earths could fit inside!) Distance from Earth: ~92 million miles (147 million km.).

What is it? A giant fireball! The sun is made of hydrogen, the same flammable gas the Hindenburg was made of…

The sun uses a process called Nuclear Fusion to fuse Hydrogen atoms together to create other elements, especially Helium and Oxygen needed for it to burn. This releases solar ENERGY particles called the Solar Wind that gives us heat and light!

The Core of the sun has enough hydrogen to burn for another 5 billion years! (and it has already burned for 5 billion!) Temperature: 15 million ºC!

The Corona (crown) is the outer layer of the sun, which can more easily be seen during an eclipse, when the center is blocked by the moon. Temperature: 2 million ºC

The Chromosphere is the colored layer of the sun, and is 2-3 thousand km. thick. The red color is also more easily seen during an eclipse, or using a special filter on a telescope. Temperature: 5-10 thousand ºC

The Photosphere is the atmosphere of the sun, and is 400 km. thick. This is the layer that gives off the light we see. The Sun Spots are areas of cooler gas in the photosphere. Temperature: 5-8 thousand ºC

Coronal Loops occur regularly, when particles arc from one place to another.

Solar Flares are explosions of energy on the surface of the sun. They give off so much energy, it interferes with our electrical equipment here on Earth!

A Prominence is a huge loop of gas connecting two sunspots. They can break off the sun and drift into space. It can cause a heat wave on Earth!