The Sun

star · energy source · hot plasma · solar power

Nuclear fusion engine. Deep inside the Sun's core, hydrogen atoms smash together and turn into helium, releasing enormous amounts of energy. This is the same process that powers nuclear bombs, but it happens naturally and continuously inside the Sun.

Life's main power source. Almost everything on Earth depends on the Sun's energy, from plants that grow with sunlight to the fossil fuels we dig up. Without the Sun, there would be no life as we know it.

Mostly light and heat. The Sun sends energy to Earth as visible light that we can see, infrared heat that we can feel, and ultraviolet rays that can burn your skin. About 90% is visible light and heat, while 10% is ultraviolet energy.

The center of everything. The Sun is so massive and has such strong gravity that all the planets, asteroids, and comets in our Solar System orbit around it. Earth has been circling the Sun for about 4.5 billion years.

Ancient and sacred. People have studied and worshipped the Sun since the earliest civilizations, treating it as a god in many cultures. Astronomers have been keeping records about the Sun for thousands of years.