The Sun
The bright star at the center of our solar system!
Hello, sunshine! Every day, the Sun lights up our sky.
The Sun gives Earth light and heat. Plants, animals, and people all need it.
Without the Sun, Earth would be dark and cold. Nothing could live here.
The Sun Is a Star
Did you know the Sun is a star? It is the star closest to Earth.
The stars you see at night are suns too. They look tiny because they are very, very far away.
The Sun is not made of rock. It is a giant ball of very hot gas. It has no solid ground to stand on.
The Sun is the only star in our solar system. Earth and the other planets all go around it.
How Big and How Hot?
The sizes match: the Sun is about 100 times wider than Earth. The distance between them is not to scale.
- Super wide The Sun is about 100 times wider than Earth.
- Super roomy More than one million Earths could fit inside the Sun!
- Far away The Sun is about 93 million miles from Earth. That is why it looks small in the sky.
- Super hot The outside of the Sun is about 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. That is much hotter than any oven.
Day and Night
The Sun does not turn off at night. It keeps shining all the time.
Earth spins like a top. It turns all the way around once every day.
When your side of Earth faces the Sun, it is day. When your side turns away, it is night.
Earth also travels all the way around the Sun. One trip takes one year.
Sun Safety
Never look right at the Sun. Not even with sunglasses. Its light is so strong that it can hurt your eyes.
Sunlight can burn your skin too. Here is how to play safe:
- Wear a hat and sunglasses.
- Put on sunscreen.
- Rest in the shade.
Sun Self-Guided Quiz
Tap the answer you think is right.
Score: 0 of 6
Try the self-guided quiz at jugami.com/space/sun/
For Grown-ups
This page introduces the Sun for grades 1 to 3: the Sun is a star made of hot gas, how big, far, and hot it is, how Earth's spin makes day and night, and basic Sun safety.
Try it: on a sunny day, check the length of a shadow in the morning, at noon, and in the afternoon. Never look at the Sun directly, even during an eclipse, without certified solar viewers.
NASA describes the Sun as a hot glowing ball of hydrogen and helium; the page says "hot gas" to keep it simple (scientists call it plasma). NASA gives the volume figure as 1.3 million Earths; the page says "more than one million." The 10,000 °F figure is for the visible surface (photosphere); the core is about 27 million °F.
Sources
Every fact on this page was checked against NASA:
- NASA Science: Our Sun, Facts
- NASA Science: The Sun
- NASA Science: Earth Facts (day and year)
- NASA Science: Eye Safety
Credits: All pictures on this page are original SVG drawings made for Jugami. They are simplified for young readers and not to scale. Nothing is saved.