1. Mrs. Duffy THE SUN

2. NOT A PLANET, BUT OUR STAR Medium-size star Trillions of stars in the Universe Diameter is 108 times bigger than Earth’s diameter, 865,000 miles across 93 million miles away from Earth 1000 times the mass of all of the rest of the Solar System combined

3. THE SUN IS BORN “Born” 4.6 billion years ago from cloud of gas & dust Fall into common center, gravity Force and Pressure Hotter & hotter: Ignited core Nuclear fusion: “burns” hydrogen, turns to helium Generates own heat & light

4. OUR SUN’S NAME Called Sol by ancient Romans “Sol”ar System Has an official symbol

5. CLIMATE & LANDFORMS Surface temperature: 11,000  F Core temperature: 25,000,000  F Hot, burning, exploding gases Sunspots: areas of cooler gases Solar Flares: waves of hot gases exploding out Solar Winds: burning of atomic particles creates wide-reaching winds https://youtu.be/GrnGi-q6iWc

6. SOLAR CYCLE Sunspots occur in regular cycle Regular 11 year intervals Increase in Solar activity = increase in Solar Flares Interact with Earth’s magnetic field Interferes with satellites

7. GRAVITY So strong it holds all the Solar System in place

8. SATELLITES & VIEWING THE SUN Cannot look directly at: eye damage Special Instruments: spectroheliograph, solar telescope Satellites 1995 SOHO space probe 1 million miles closer to Sun than Earth Temperature and wind information

9. FUN FACT Sun gradually warming 5 billion years from now, expands, Red Giant 7.5 billion years will engulf Earth

10. RESOURCES "Our Solar System." The Solar System. Kids Know It Network. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. History.com. A&E Television Networks. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. Arlon, Penny. Scholastic Discover More: Planets. Scholastic, Incorporated, 2012. Print. Asimov, Isaac. The Sun. Milwaukee: G. Stevens Pub., 1988. Print.