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Weather
Factfile |
 Weather |
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The Suns Energy |
Did you know that our Sun is actually a star? Because stars vary in size, temperature and colour, Astronomers have catagorised stars so they can distinguish between them. Astronomers call the Sun a dwarf star and in common with other stars, it is actually a huge ball of very hot gas. It has been estimated that the Sun is nearly 1,400,000 km across, with a surface temperature of about 5,500ºC.
The Sun produces its energy from within its centre or core, where the pressure is enormous and the temperature is thought to reach 15 million ºC. Here, atoms of hydrogen gas fuse (join together) to form helium, another gas. This process of fusing together actually creates a nuclear reaction and it is this process that creates the enormous amounts of energy the Sun has. From the core, currents of hot gas carry the energy to the surface of the Sun where it escapes into space as light and heat.
REMINDER: NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN. IT'S LIGHT IS SO BRIGHT THAT IT WILL DAMAGE YOUR EYES OR POSSIBLY BLIND YOU.
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