1. Solar System Research Project: The Sun Nancy Chen Core: B/2

2. Description  The Sun is actually a star.  The temperature on the surface of the sun is 10,000ºF and it reaches 27,000,000ºF at its core.  The Sun is mostly composed of the elements hydrogen and helium. It also contains small amounts of other elements.  The Sun is a star not a planet so, therefore it has no moons.  The orbital period on the sun is about 240,000,000 years.  The Sun takes about 26 earth days to make a rotation on its equator.

3. Distance PlanetDistance from the Sun in AU’s Distance from the Sun in Kilometers Mercury0.387 AU57,000,000 km Venus0.723 AU108,000,000 km Earth1 AU150,000,000 km Mars1.524 AU228,000,000 km Jupiter5.203 AU779,000,000 km Saturn9.529 AU1,400,000,000 km Uranus19.19 AU2,880,000,000 km Neptune30.06 AU4,500,000,000 km

4. Size  The Sun is 1,391,000 kilometers in diameter  The circumference at the equator of the Sun is 4,370,005.6 kilometers.  The largest object in the solar system is the Sun.  The Sun is largest object in the Solar System.

5. Interesting Facts  Light from the Sun takes about eight minutes to reach Earth.  The Sun’s age is around 4.6 billion years old.  99.6% of the Solar System’s mass is the Sun  The solar eclipse occurs when the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth  The Sun often gives out huge ejections of mass called a solar flare.  Over one million planet Earths can fit into the Sun.  The Sun is the closest star to Earth.  The Sun has six layers.  We won’t have the Sun forever.  Sunspots appear dark on the Sun because it is colder.

6. Sources  http://nineplanets.org http://nineplanets.org  http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/space/sun.html http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/space/sun.html  http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/solar- system/sun-article/ http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/solar- system/sun-article/  http://www.space.com/17137-how-hot-is-the-sun.html http://www.space.com/17137-how-hot-is-the-sun.html  http://space-facts.com/the-sun/ http://space-facts.com/the-sun/  http://www.suntrek.org/sun-as-a-star/suns-vital-statistics/does-sun- rotate.shtmnie http://www.suntrek.org/sun-as-a-star/suns-vital-statistics/does-sun- rotate.shtmnie  http://www.universetoday.com/15462/how-far-are-the-planets-from-the- sun/ http://www.universetoday.com/15462/how-far-are-the-planets-from-the- sun/