We take for granted that the Sun rises and sets everyday, provides us with warmth, and basically keeps us alive. But not too many people really know what the sun is, so today I present a few fun facts about our friend, the sun.
This is what the sun looks like right now (technically at 9:45 am this morning if you're on the east coast). The picture was taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory, a solar telescope that is in orbit around the Earth. Our sun:
- Is an average star, in astronomical terms
- Is 150,000,000 km ( 93,205,678.8 miles) away
- Is 1,400,000 km (869,919.6 miles) wide
- Weighs 2,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg (4,400,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 pounds)
- Has a surface temperature of ~5700K (9800.6 ºF)
- Is made of 74% hydrogen, 25% Helium, 1% other elements
- Is about the same density as water (It would float in a gigantic pool of water!)
Fun fact: It takes about 8min for the sun's light to reach earth. So if the sun suddenly blew up or vanished, it would be 8min before we even had a clue!
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