3.+The+Sun

The sun ~ The sun's symbol

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is spherical and consists of hot plasma, which is intwined with magnetic fields. It has a diameter of about 1,392,000 kilometers and with that being said it's about 109 times the size of the Earth. It's 333,400 times the mass of the earth, and the gravity on earth is 28 times less then it is on the Sun. It consists of 99.86% mass of the entire Solar System. Chemically, it is made up of hydrogen, helium, oxygen, neon, iron, and carbon. It's surface temperature is approximately 6000 C averagely. Age wise it is about 4.57 billion years old. The mean distance from the Sun to the Earth is around 149.6 million kilometers.The Sun's rotational axis is tilted by 7.25° from perpendicular to the ecliptic, which is 122 degrees.



In Roman mythology, the goddess of the dawn, Aarora, renews herself every morning and flies across the sky, announcing the arrival of the sun. From the mythological perspective, the Titan God Helios was the Sun God. He was also the guardian of oaths and the god of gift of sight. Helios dwelt in a golden palace located in the River Okeanos at the eastern ends of the earth. From there he emerged each dawn driving a chariot drawn by four, fiery winged steeds and crowned with the aureole of the sun. When he reached the the land of the Hesperides (Evenings) in the West he descended into a golden cup which carried him around the northern streams of Okeanos back to his rising place in the East. Did you know:


 * Light from the Sun reaches Earth in around 8 minutes.
 * The Sun’s core is around 13600000 degrees Celsius!
 * The Sun generates huge amounts of energy by combining hydrogen nuclei into helium. This process is called nuclear fusion.
 * Because of the Sun’s huge influence on Earth, many early cultures saw the Sun as a deity or god. For example, Ancient Egyptians had a sun god called Ra while in Aztec mythology there is a sun god named Tonatiuh.
 * The Sun produces a solar wind which contains charged particles such as electrons and protons. They escape the Sun’s intense gravity because of their high kinetic energy and the high temperature of the Sun’s corona (a type of plasma atmosphere that extends into space).
 * Planets with strong magnetic fields such as Earth manage to deflect most of these charged particles as they approach.
 * A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth.



By, Rebecca Moore, Jordan Brommel