The planets, dwarf planets, asteroids and comets travel around the Sun in an ellipse. Our solar system was formed about 5 billion years ago, and the surface of the Sun is about 4.6 billion years old.
Q How was the Sun created?
A Before it was formed, the Sun and the rest of the solar system was a huge mass of hot gas and dust called a solar nebula. This nebula spun faster and faster until the clouds of gases, dust and ice particles clumped
together and exploded, forming the sun.
Q Why does the Sun glow?
A The Sun is made up of huge amounts of hydrogen and helium gases. Nuclear reactions
at the centre of the Sun emit a large amount of energy that makes the Sun glow. That same
energy travels through space and reaches us as heat and light.
Q What is a solar eclipse?
A A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon comes between the Sun and the Earth, blocking the Sun from our view. In a total solar eclipse, the Moon blocks out the Sun from our view completely. In a partial eclipse,
however, a part of the Sun is visible.
although it is actually much smaller than the Sun.
However, in an annular eclipse the Moon is too far away from the Earth to block
the Sun out totally and therefore a ring of sunlight is seen.
Q What is a solar flare?
A Sometimes the Sun produces a huge amount of magnetic energy that sends out jets of gas into space. These jets of gas are called solar flares and cause a sudden increase in the brightness of the Sun.
Solar flares are often followed by the release of electrically charged particles like protons and electrons. These are called solar winds and are known to travel at a speed of about 500 kilometres (300 miles) per second.
Q Is the Sun really a star?
A The Sun is a medium-sized star known as a yellow dwarf. It is younger and smaller than most stars in the universe, but is very bright and extremely hot. In about five billion years, when all the hydrogen in its core has been used up, the Sun will change into a red giant star. After that, the Sun will evolve into a white dwarf before finally dying out.
Q How did we learn about the Sun?
A We have sent several solar missions into space to study the Sun and its characteristics. The first detailed observations were made by NASA’s Pioneer missions that were launched between 1959 and 1968.
The Solar Maximum mission of 1980 made a detailed study of solar flares. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) launched in 1995, has been continuously collecting data regarding the Sun for the last ten years.
1. What are sunspots?
Sunspots are storms on the surface of the Sun. These storms appear as huge, dark spots in satellite pictures and so are called sunspots.
2. How hot is the Sun?
The Sun’s surface temperature is about 5,760 °C (10,400 °F), while its centre is an incredible 15 million °C (28 million °F) – that is more than 150,000 times hotter than boiling water!
3. How far is the Sun from us?
The Sun is about 150 million kilometres (93 million miles) away from the Earth.
4. What is the corona?
The corona is the glowing atmosphere of the Sun that extends millions of kilometres into space. The corona is 200 times hotter than the Sun’s surface!
5. Is the sun worshipped by people?
The sun has been worshipped as a god since ancient times by the Greeks, Romans and native Americans.
In different directions!
The Sun takes about 26 days on average to rotate on its axis. Since it is made up of gas, different parts of the Sun rotate at different speeds. The surface closest to the equator rotates faster than that closest to the polar regions. The Sun’s surface near the poles takes almost 36 days to complete one rotation.
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