With respect to the other stars, the Sun is a star of average magnitude. However, with respect to the planets of its solar system, it is a true giant. The Sun's diameter is 1 392 000 kilometers, 109 times the diameter of the Earth (which measures 12 756 kilometers) and more than three times the distance between the Earth and the Moon. The Sun's mass, the quantity of matter that it contains, is 333 000 times that of the Earth: it would take 333 000 planets like ours to equal the mass of the Sun. Our star could hold 1 300 000 planet Earths because the Sun, on the average, is less dense than our planet: the Sun's core weighs 12 times more than lead and its photosphere is one million times less dense than water. The surface temperature of the Sun is 6 000 degrees Celsius, while the internal temperature reaches 15 000 000 degrees Celsius. Its chemical composition is very simple: 80% hydrogen, 19% helium and 1% all the other chemical elements. The reaction between hydrogen and helium in the Sun creates the enormous energy radiated from the star. The distance between the Sun and the Earth, which light takes about 8 minutes to travel, is between 147 000 000 and 152 000 000, with the average distance being 149 631 000 kilometers. The gravitational force of the Sun's surface is approximately 28 times that of the Earth. Consequently, if a man weighs 82 kilograms on Earth, he would weigh nearly 2 300 on the Sun!
With respect to the other stars, the Sun is a star of average magnitude. However, with respect to the planets of its solar system, it is a true giant. The Sun's diameter is 1 392 000 kilometers, 109 times the diameter of the Earth (which measures 12 756 kilometers) and more than three times the distance between the Earth and the Moon. The Sun's mass, the quantity of matter that it contains, is 333 000 times that of the Earth: it would take 333 000 planets like ours to equal the mass of the Sun. Our star could hold 1 300 000 planet Earths because the Sun, on the average, is less dense than our planet: the Sun's core weighs 12 times more than lead and its photosphere is one million times less dense than water. The surface temperature of the Sun is 6 000 degrees Celsius, while the internal temperature reaches 15 000 000 degrees Celsius. Its chemical composition is very simple: 80% hydrogen, 19% helium and 1% all the other chemical elements. The reaction between hydrogen and helium in the Sun creates the enormous energy radiated from the star. The distance between the Sun and the Earth, which light takes about 8 minutes to travel, is between 147 000 000 and 152 000 000, with the average distance being 149 631 000 kilometers. The gravitational force of the Sun's surface is approximately 28 times that of the Earth. Consequently, if a man weighs 82 kilograms on Earth, he would weigh nearly 2 300 on the Sun!
