13 interesting facts about the Sun you should know

20/12/2014

Friends, we all receive sunlight. It is essential for living and is responsible for the photosynthesis. It plays very crucial role in our daily activities. The sun is the heart of our solar system, let me share some interesting facts about the sun and these are as follows:

(1) Sun is a star

Sun is a Yellow dwarf star and it is at the centre of our solar system. It is responsible for the change in earth’s climate.

(2) It is middle aged

The age of Sun is 4.6 billion years. It will continue to burn hydrogen for another 5 billion years. Sun is Yellow dwarf star.
Diameter: 1392684 Km
Surface temperature: 5500ºC
Mass:1.99×10²¹ billion kg (almost 3.3 lacs times of the Earth)

(3) The energy process

The sun releases energy due to nuclear fusion. The hydrogen combines to form helium.

(4) It takes 8.33 mins for light from sun to reach the earth.

The distance between sun and earth is 150 million kms (1 astronomical unit=1AU) and the speed of the light is 300000 kms/sec.

By using the formula:

Time = Distance/Speed

=150 million Kms/ 300000 Kms/sec
=500 seconds
=8.33 minutes

(5) Speed

Sun travels at the speed of 220 Km per second.

(6) Sun is almost a sphere

The difference between its polar and equilateral diameter is approx 10 kms. By looking at the vast diameter of the sun, we can say that this difference is nothing and making it a almost a perfect sphere.

(7) Escape velocity

The escape velocity of sun is 617.7 km/sec (approximately 55 times that of earth). The Escape velocity is the minimum velocity a body must have so as to escape from the gravitational attraction of a planet or star.

(8) Distance from earth

The distance between sun and the earth changes throughout the year because of the elliptical orbit of the earth around the sun. The distance varies between 147 million kms to 152 million kms.

(9) Gravity

A person weighing 70 kgs on earth will weigh 1960 kgs on sun because sun’s gravity is 28 times that of earth.

(10) Mass in the solar system

Sun’s mass comprises 99.85% of the mass of the solar system.

(11) The sun will eventually engulf the planet earth

The sun generates energy through the process of nuclear fusion. The hydrogen combines to form helium and in this process very large amount of energy is released. When all the hydrogen will be converted to helium, the sun will continue to burn helium for approximately 130 million years and keep on expanding. At one stage it will engulf mercury, venus and the earth. This phase will be called as Red giant phase of sun.

(12) Sun is a kind of Plasma

This property makes it to rotate faster at the equator than that at its extreme latitudes, this differential speed makes the magnetic lines to get twisted over time. This process is called solar dynamo. After every 11 years, sun reverses its magnetic polarity that is its north pole become south pole and vice versa

(13) Distance from Pluto

The distance between the sun and its outer most planet pluto is 5874 million kms (39.26 AU). The light takes approx 5.5 hours to travel from sun to the outer most planet Pluto.