6: The Sun
Definition: The sun is our solar system's parent star.
Composition: Mainly Hydrogen and Helium.
Star type: Yellow dwarf star
Age: Sun is a 4.5 billion-year-old star.
Mass: It covers 99.84℅ of the mass of the solar system.
Distance from Earth: 150 million kilometers (approx.)
Diameter: 1.4 million kilometers
Formation: The Sun has formed about 4.6 billion years ago in the Solar nebula.
Properties:
Largest celestial body in the Solar System. Its Gravity is holding the solar system, keeping planets in their respective orbits. It pulls the smallest pieces of ace debris towards it.
Parts of the Sun:
Surface: Photosphere (5,500 °C)
Outer Atmosphere: The corona (2 million °C)
Location:
Center of our solar system; Milky Way galaxy's spiral arm called the Orion Spur that extends outward from the Sagittarius arm.
Orbit:
The Sun orbits the center of the Milky Way. Our solar system is moving with a velocity of 720,000 km per hour (approx.). It still takes about 230 million years for the Sun to make one trip around the Milky Way. The Sun also rotates on its axis. Its spin has a tilt of 7.25 degrees.
Death: Sun will eventually run out of energy. Sun will expand into a red giant star, becoming very large. Sun is almost halfway through its lifetime.
Fun Fact: There are a few spots on the surface of the Sun. In these spots, the temperature is 1000 degrees C less than the normal surface
temperature, forming huge cold areas known as Sun spots.
Coming up next: Mercury 101
By space enthusiast:
Aashni
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