1. Characteristics of the Sun

2. Characteristics of the Sun
The sun is a medium size star
It appears larger than the other stars because of its relative nearness to Earth
It consists of about 70% Hydrogen, 28% Helium and 2% of metals such as iron

3. Size The sun is 1,390,000km in diameter
You could fit 1 million Earths inside the sun
The planet Venus just passing in front of the Sun

4. It would take 108 Earths laid side-by-side to go across the Sun’s diameter

6. Characteristics of the Sun – Teacher’s Domain
Relative Sizes

7. Mass The mass of the Sun is about 2 x 1030 kilograms
It is one of the larger stars in our Milky Way galaxy
The mass of the Sun is over 300,000 times greater than that of the Earth

8. Distance The Sun is 149,600,000 km (92 million miles) from the Earth
Since the speed of light is 303,000 km/sec (186,000 miles/second), it takes the light slightly over 8 minutes to get from the Sun to the Earth

10. Temperature Inside our Sun a Deeper Look
Its temperature is extremely hot, with the surface being about ° C and the center core at 15,600,000° C
The high temperature in the core, along with extreme pressure from the Sun's mass, result in nuclear fusion reactions
Nuclear fusion converts hydrogen to helium producing energy

11. Importance of the Sun The Sun Song - kidsknowit
Without the Sun, the Earth would not be able to support life
It is the main source of energy for Earth
It provides light and heat
It’s necessary for plants to carry out photosynthesis
The sun song
Importance of the Sun – 5min

12. Measuring Distances
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13. The Milky Way The Milky Way is a cluster of stars, called a galaxy
It contains hundreds of billions of stars
If you traveled at the speed of light for about 2 million years, you would reach the next galaxy – the Andromeda Galaxy
There are billions of galaxies in the universe

14. Light Years Explained
Distance to Stars
Astronomers use light-years and astronomical units to measure distance
A light-year is the distance that light travels in one year
In space, light travels at a speed of 300,000km per second
A light year is about 9.5 million million km (9,460,730,472,580.8)
About 6 trillion miles

15. For Example
Measuring the Universe - discovery
If you ride your bike at 10 kilometers per hour, it would take you 1 hour to go to a mall 10km away.
You could say that the mall is 1 bike-hour away

16. Actual Distance from the Sun to the Earth

17. How long does it take light to get from the Sun to the Earth?
8 minutes
It takes 16 minutes to go there and back

18. Stars Betelgeuse: Rigel: Orion Nebula: 427 light years 773 light years

19. The light-year is a unit of distance, not time!
Key Idea
The light-year is a unit of distance, not time!

20. The Milky Way Galaxy is about 100,000 light years across
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21. Nearby Stars:
Name Distance from Earth
Sun million miles (8 light min)
Proxima Centauri Light Years
Alpha Centuri A,B Light Years
Barnards Star Light Years
Wolf Light Years
Lalande Light Years
Sirius A,B Light Years

22. How Fast Can We Get There?
Destination
Jet
(960 km/h)
Rocket
(40,000km/h)
Sunbeam
(300,000 km/sec)
Moon
16.5 days
9.4 hours
1.2 seconds
Sun
17 years, 8 months
4 months
8.5 minutes
Jupiter
74 years, 3 mos
1 year, 9 months
35 minutes
Alpha Centauri (nearest star)
4.8 million years
114,155 years
4.2 years
Monocerus Nebula
109 years
Center of the Milky Way Galaxy
38,000 years
Andromeda Galaxy
2.2 million years
Hubble Galaxies
400 million years

23. Astronomical Unit
The distance of the Sun to the Earth is called an Astronomical Unit (AU) and is sometimes used to denote large distances that are less than a light year
A light year is about 63,241.1 astronomical units

24. 1 Astronomical Unit (AU)
Sun to Earth Distance
1 Astronomical Unit (AU)
93,000,000 Miles

25. Body AU
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto