There exist billions of stars in the sky. Among them, the Sun is the closest to the earth. The sun lies in the middle of the solar system. It makes one rotation every 27 days. Formed about 4.5 billion years ago, it is assumed to be in its midlife. It is expected to continue shining for about five billion more years.
The surface of the sun is called photosphere. The temperature of the photosphere is 5,778 K. It is, however, much hotter at the core of the sun, being 15.7 million K. The energy is produced via a process known as nuclear fusion. This involves 2 hydrogen nuclei joining to form 1 helium nucleus, releasing energy.
The sun is 149.6 million kilometers from the earth. Its diameter is 1.392 million kilometers, which reflects an equatorial circumference of 4.379 million kilometers. Compared to the corresponding measurements of the earth, these are 109 times more. The surface area of the sun is 6.0887 trillion kilometer square, about 11,990 times the earth. Its volume exceeds that of earth by 1.3 million.
Energy from the sun, known as solar energy, reaches the earth via radiation. The sun can only absorb a small fraction of solar energy; hence plenty of the radiated energy is reverberated back to space. Life on earth is dependent of the absorbed energy. More of its effects include tides, weather patterns and the earth's water cycle.
Plants use solar energy to make their own food, through a process called photosynthesis. This is the basic process that makes food available to all other living things. The sun is also responsible for the energy stored in fossils, as well as petroleum and coal.
Providing unlimited light and heat, the sun is the main source of energy to the earth. Extra applications of solar energy include lighting, generating electricity and in enhancing growth of plants in green houses. Considering all these factors, it is true to say that there can be no life on earth without the sun.
The surface of the sun is called photosphere. The temperature of the photosphere is 5,778 K. It is, however, much hotter at the core of the sun, being 15.7 million K. The energy is produced via a process known as nuclear fusion. This involves 2 hydrogen nuclei joining to form 1 helium nucleus, releasing energy.
The sun is 149.6 million kilometers from the earth. Its diameter is 1.392 million kilometers, which reflects an equatorial circumference of 4.379 million kilometers. Compared to the corresponding measurements of the earth, these are 109 times more. The surface area of the sun is 6.0887 trillion kilometer square, about 11,990 times the earth. Its volume exceeds that of earth by 1.3 million.
Energy from the sun, known as solar energy, reaches the earth via radiation. The sun can only absorb a small fraction of solar energy; hence plenty of the radiated energy is reverberated back to space. Life on earth is dependent of the absorbed energy. More of its effects include tides, weather patterns and the earth's water cycle.
Plants use solar energy to make their own food, through a process called photosynthesis. This is the basic process that makes food available to all other living things. The sun is also responsible for the energy stored in fossils, as well as petroleum and coal.
Providing unlimited light and heat, the sun is the main source of energy to the earth. Extra applications of solar energy include lighting, generating electricity and in enhancing growth of plants in green houses. Considering all these factors, it is true to say that there can be no life on earth without the sun.
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