There would be no life on Earth if there was no Sun and its energy. It takes millions of years for the energy from the core of the Sun to reach the surface. The energy from the core of the Sun powers it. The six regions of the Sun, starting from the outside are the corona, the chromosphere, the visible surface (the photosphere), the convection zone, the radiation zone, and the core. The photosphere (the Sun’s 'surface') is 500 kilometers thick (300 miles). The photosphere has a temperature of 5,500°C (10,000°F). The Sun’s core is 15,000,000°C (27,000,000°F). The Sun is a ball of hot gases and does not have a solid surface.
Three regions shown here↑
Three regions shown here↑
The Sun is in the center of our Solar System. It is orbited by planets, moons, dwarf planets, asteroids, and comets. The light from the Sun takes roughly 8 minutes and 20 seconds to reach the Earth. Even though the Sun is 149,600,000 kilometers (92,960,000 miles) away from the Earth, it’s the closest star to Earth. The Sun plays a huge role in supporting life on Earth. It changes the seasons, the weather and climate, and the ocean currents.
The Sun is huge. About 1,000,000 Earths could fit inside of the Sun. The Sun takes up 99.8% of the total mass in our Solar System. Consider this: if there was a parking lot of 500 cars to represent all of the mass in the solar system, the mass of all of the planets combined would be 1 car, and the rest of the cars would represent the mass of the Sun.There are more than 100 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy, and our Sun is just one of them. Even though the Sun is huge, it is considered to be a medium sized star. Eventually it will grow bigger and bigger and turn into a red giant, and it will expand until it goes way out past Mars.
Sizes shown here↑
The Sun is huge. About 1,000,000 Earths could fit inside of the Sun. The Sun takes up 99.8% of the total mass in our Solar System. Consider this: if there was a parking lot of 500 cars to represent all of the mass in the solar system, the mass of all of the planets combined would be 1 car, and the rest of the cars would represent the mass of the Sun.There are more than 100 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy, and our Sun is just one of them. Even though the Sun is huge, it is considered to be a medium sized star. Eventually it will grow bigger and bigger and turn into a red giant, and it will expand until it goes way out past Mars.
Sizes shown here↑
The Sun is called many different names in different countries. In French it’s called Soleil, in German it’s Sonne and in Dutch it’s Zon. The ancient Greeks and Romans called it Helios and Sol.
Our solar system has eight planets and five dwarf planets.
Name Distance from Sun Type
Mercury 57,909,227 km Planet
Venus 108,209,475 km Planet
Earth 149,598,262 km Planet
Mars 227,943,824 km Planet
Ceres 413,700,000 km Dwarf Planet
Jupiter 778,340,821 km Planet
Saturn 1,426,666,422 km Planet
Uranus 2,870,658,186 km Planet
Neptune 4,498,396,441 km Planet
Pluto 5,874,000,000 km Dwarf Planet
Haumea 6,452,000,000 km Dwarf Planet
Makemake 6,850,000,000 km Dwarf Planet
Eris 10,120,000,000km Dwarf Planet
Name Distance from Sun Type
Mercury 57,909,227 km Planet
Venus 108,209,475 km Planet
Earth 149,598,262 km Planet
Mars 227,943,824 km Planet
Ceres 413,700,000 km Dwarf Planet
Jupiter 778,340,821 km Planet
Saturn 1,426,666,422 km Planet
Uranus 2,870,658,186 km Planet
Neptune 4,498,396,441 km Planet
Pluto 5,874,000,000 km Dwarf Planet
Haumea 6,452,000,000 km Dwarf Planet
Makemake 6,850,000,000 km Dwarf Planet
Eris 10,120,000,000km Dwarf Planet