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Sun |
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Sun |
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Current Missions |
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Genesis |
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Ulysses |
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Fast Facts |
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Did you know?
Our Sun is about 4.76 billion years old. The oldest meteorites are 4.8 to 4.9 billion years old. However, the dust particles trapped inside these meteors may be more ancient than the Sun since dust grains were often formed in faraway stars millions of years older than the Sun. |
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Our Sun, the 5-billion-year-old star that sustains life here on Earth, powers photosynthesis in green plants and is ultimately the source of all food and fossil fuel. The connection and interaction between the Sun and Earth drive the seasons, currents in the oceans, weather and climate. With a core reaching a fiery 16 million degrees Kelvin (nearly 29 million degrees Fahrenheit), the Sun's surface temperature is so hot that no solid or liquid can exist there. Luckily for humans, Earth is a little less than 150 million kilometers (93 million miles) away from the Sun. Although its interior has been modified by nuclear reactions, the outer layers of the Sun are composed of very nearly the same material as the original solar nebula.
As the star for nine planets, a multitude of asteroids, comets and other celestial objects, the Sun contains more than 99 percent of the entire mass in the solar system.
For more information, visit NASA's Sun Earth Connection site.
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More Images
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