The Sun

The Sun is at the center of the Solar System. Its size is thirteen lakh times as that of the Earth. It is the nearest star to Earth. It is an ultimate source of energy for life on Earth. Its diameter is 14 lakhs kms.

It is composed of 17% Hydrogen, 26.5% Helium and 2.5% other elements. Hydrogen and Helium are the main gases present in the Sun. Within the Sun, hydrogen is converted to Helium due to nuclear fusion releasing a tremendous amount of heat and light.

The Sun

It has a surface temperature of about 6000°C. The temperature at the center is around 15,000,000°C. Shining surface of the Sun is called photosphere, it appears like a disc, radiates energy and acts as a source of energy.

The outer layer of Sun's atmosphere made up of thin hot gases, is called Corona. Corona is visible only during a total eclipse of the Sun or with a special solar telescope called Coronagraph.

The planet travels with the Sun through millions of stars in our galaxy at a speed of about 70,000 km per hour. The Sun is about 150 million kms away from the Earth. Light takes about 8.5 minutes to reach the Earth from the Sun at the speed of 300,000 km per second.