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Sun, the
Sun, the
The Sun is a star 1.4 million km across whose gases constantly churn over and send huge streams of matter far out into the Universe.
We receive just one two- millionths of all the energy emited by the Sun, and yet plants can still capture enough of it to provide the energy for all life on Earth, nearly 150 million km away.
The Sun is so large that it has immense gravitational pull and can hold all nine planets of the Solar System in orbit.
(For more on the Sun see: Chromosphere; Corona; Diamond ring; Eclipse; Filament; Flare; Photosphere; Prominence; Solar wind; Sunspot.)
 The Sun—The Sun, showing the main parts of its structure.
Sunspots (dark) and faculae (light). They show where the Sun is turning over its gases most actively. They last in any one region for between a few weeks and several months. Sunspot activity is linked to the Sun’s magnetism and varies in a cycle lasting 22 years.
Corona. This is the region of thin, intensely hot gases that spread beyond the visible Sun, and that is picked out as the faint glow that extends beyond the Sun and can be seen during an eclipse. It is the Sun’s version of an atmosphere.
Prominences and flares. These gigantic solar fireworks are produced when the incredibly powerful magnetic fields of the Sun pull glowing gases away from its surface. They are most common when the sunspot activity is greatest.
The Sun spins once on its axis every 25 days.
 The Sun—This picture shows the churning motions of the cauldron that is the Sun.
The yellow color of the Sun is caused by its temperature. It glows yellow (almost white hot) because its surface is about 6,000°C.
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