The+Sun,+Our+Mighty+Star


 * The Sun, Our Mighty Star **


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Our sun is an average star, but it is OUR star, so that makes it very important. It is, in fact, the closest star to Earth. We could not have life on Earth without the sun. While some stars are as old as the universe, our sun is about 4.5 billion years old.

The sun, like all stars, creates its own energy and light. All other objects in the sky reflect the sun's light. No objects have their own light. So, without the sun, our Solar System would be nothing but blackness.

In order to learn more about our sun, we had one of our roving reporters from Huntington Elementary School sit down with the Sun for a casual interview.

Interview with the Sun (Part 1)

**Huntington:** Hello Sun. I am writing an article for our fifth grade Wiki. First, I want to thank you for meeting with me. I hope you don't mind if I keep my sunglasses on.

 **Sun:** Oh, no...perfectly fine. In fact, you might want to take that sweater off before you start.

 **Huntington:** Uh, yeah, thanks. Good idea. Okay, so, Mr. Sun...

 **Sun:** You can just call me Sun, or Sunny works too. That's always been my favorite nickname.

 **Huntington:** Alright, Sunny, er, my first question is how hot do you get actually?

 **Sun:** My surface temperature is about 10,000 degrees F. That might seem hot but my core (located deep within me) actually gets to a planet-melting 27,000,000 degrees F.

 **Huntington:** I cannot even imagine how hot that would be. So, how do you stay this hot?

 **Sun:** Well, I am able to produce my own energy. Using a nuclear fusion process, I am able to convert hydrogen into helium. It's very complicated but it has been working for me for almost 5 billion years now.

 **Huntington:** 5 billion years? Is that how old you are?

 **Sun:** Yes.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 170%;"> **Huntington:** I am stunned! Okay, so you produce your own energy. Very interesting. I have heard that you are made up of several different parts. Want to explain that for me?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 170%;"> **Sun:** I would love to! Although you just see a great big ball in the sky when you look up...but please don't ever look directly at me. It is dangerous. Always make sure you wear special glasses. Even if you use a telescope, you have to have a special lens to look directly into my face. As I was saying, although you think I am just one great big ball of fire, I have six main parts.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 170%;"> Here's a nice visual I like:

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 170%;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 170%;">The core (in the center here) is where I convert hydrogen into helium. This is the power source that runs everything. Next is the radiation zone, which is just above the core. Above that is the radiation zone. You do not see any of these parts of me. Ordinarily, the only part of me you see is the photosphere, which is so bright it drowns out the chromosphere, but during an eclipse, when the photosphere is blocked, you can actually see the chromosphere. This is the circle of light you see in pictures, like the one below:

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 170%;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 170%;">But, there is still one last part of me. It is the Corona. Corona is a word meaning "crown." It is my outermost part and also the hottest part of my surface. It extends millions of miles into space and has temperatures reaching millions of degrees. Yes, it is true. The corona that extends out is actually hotter than the photosphere. And, my corona can only be seen during a solar (sun) eclipse.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 170%;">**Huntington:** Again, Sunny, I am stunned. I can see that you are very hot. Would you mind telling me something about your size? I know this can be sensitive for some folks, but I think it's good information.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 170%;">**Sun:** Absolutely. My diameter is about 1.4 million kilometers. I know that is hard to imagine, but consider this. You could fit 1.3 million Earths inside of me. However, as big as I am, I am relatively small when compared to others of my kind. There are stars that if placed next to me would make me look like an ant. In fact, if you want to see just how small I am, when compared with others in my star family, here is one of my favorite videos:

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 170%;">media type="youtube" key="HEheh1BH34Q" height="390" width="640"