The Sun is the closest star to the earth, and one of the largest space entities that we can see with the naked eye. A source of abundant energy, the Sun is the reason for life on our planet and a source of abundant energy.
Interesting, isn’t it? There is so much more about the sun that we cannot cover in this one paragraph. So keep reading this MomJunction article for the most interesting Sun facts for kids such as its temperature, distance from the Earth, its many layers and more.
Fun Sun Facts for Kids
- Without the energy of the Sun, there would be no life on Earth. So Sun is our life-giver.
- The Sun sits at the center of our Solar System.
- The Sun sums up to 99.86% mass of the entire Solar System.
- The Sun is 74% hydrogen and 24% helium. Other elements in the Sun are carbon, oxygen, neon, and iron.
- The Sun is one of the million stars in the Galaxy.
- The Sun appears to us as a huge round ball that is deep orange, because the Earth is closest to the Sun than it is to the other stars in the galaxy.
- There are other stars in the galaxy that are bigger and brighter than the Sun, or smaller than the Sun. Since they are too far from us, these stars appear as dots of light in the night sky.
- Seven planets, other than the Earth, and five dwarf planets orbit the Sun. This system is called the Solar System, which is believed to have formed around 4.6 billion years ago.
- Sun originates from the old English word Sunne or the Proto-Germanic Sunnon. In Latin, it is referred to as “Sol,” from which the word solar is derived.
- The diameter of the sun is 1.391016 million km.
- The distance between the Sun and the Earth is around 150 million km.
- The Sun’s diameter is about 109 times more than the Earth’s diameter. It weighs over 333,000 times more than our planet.
- Over 1,300,000 planets the size of earth can fit inside the Sun.
Layers of the Sun
The Sun has multiple layers through which it generates and passes on energy and light.
- The center of the Sun is called the ‘Core,’ that generates the energy of the Sun.
- The ‘Radiative Zone’ surrounds the core and transports the energy generated by the core.
- It takes around 170,000 years to transmit the energy of the Sun from its core- to the second layer, the Radiative Zone, then to the third layer which is the ‘Convective Zone.’
- Big bubbles of energy move into the Photosphere (or the surface of the Sun) via the Convective layer.
- The Earth receives the sunlight when the radiation of the Sun escapes from the Photosphere.
- There two layers outside the Photosphere are the Chromosphere and the Corona.
- The Corona can be seen on a dull day with overcast sky or during eclipses.
- It takes 8 minutes and 20 seconds for the Sun’s ray to reach the Earth.
- The surface temperature of the Sun is approximately 5,500 degrees Celsius.
- The core temperature of the Sun is about 15 million degrees Celsius.
- The Sun produces energy by a process called nuclear fusion in which the hydrogen nuclei combines into helium.
- Scientists believe that the Sun’s core will run out of its energy in about 5 billion years.
- Many cultures have worshiped the Sun as God. The Egyptians called the Sun God Ra.
- The Sun is middle-aged when compared to billions of stars in the galaxy.
- The Sun’s strong gravity holds all planets in their places.
- There are some regions in the Sun where the temperature is not that strong; those spots are called ‘sun spots’. Sunspots are magnetic regions and look like dark spots on the Sun.
- Staring at the Sun directly without wearing protective glasses on a bright sunny day can damage the eye.
- During a full solar eclipse, the chromosphere can sometimes be seen as a thin, fine red line, and the corona encircling it.
- Many believe that the world-famous monument, the Stonehenge was used to worship the Sun God.
Theories of the Solar System
- Previously, it was believed that the Sun rotates around the Earth.
- Ancient Greek astronomer Aristarchus of Samos was the first to say that the planets revolved around the Sun. (c.310-c.230 BC)
- 300 years later, another astronomer Ptolemy presented his ‘Ptolemaic system’ claiming the Earth is the center of the Universe. His theory remained for the next 1400 years.
- Nicholas Copernicus, the famous Polish scientist, published his work called ’De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium’. He worked to establish that the planets revolved around the Sun.
- People who believed Copernicus were imprisoned and some were even executed.
- The works of famous astronomers and scientists such as Galileo and Johann Kepler reinforced the theory of Copernicus.
- Until Sir Isaac Newton published his theory of gravity, the concept of the Solar system was also not accepted entirely.
- The Sun has a specific sound. Watch this video by NASA to know how it sounds.
Although the Sun is the most apparent star in the sky and huge as it is, its significance goes beyond merely being a star. It is the sole reason why life is possible on planet Earth. Surely, these fantastic facts about Sun for kids are mind-blowing and can intrigue your children to know more about the Solar System, the stars and the galaxy.
Do you know more fun facts about the Sun? Tell us about them in the comment box below.