The Sun And Its Connection To The Earth

By Haywood Hunter


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.

Photosphere is the name given to the surface of the sun. The temperature at the core of the sun is 15.7 million K, a lot hotter than the photosphere's 5,778 K. This energy is produced via a nuclear reaction called nuclear fusion. During this process, two hydrogen nuclei bond to make one helium nucleus. This process involves release of energy.

A distance of 149.6 million kilometers separates the sun and the earth. The sun has a diameter of 1.392 million kilometers and an equatorial circumference of 4.379 million kilometers. These values are 109 times higher than the corresponding earth's measurements. Its surface area is 11,990 times that of earth, measuring 6.0877 trillion kilometer squared. Its volume is 1.3 trillion times that of earth.

The energy from the sun is called solar energy. It is received by the earth through radiation. Since only a fraction of the radiated energy can be absorbed by our planet, a lot of it is reflected back to space. Life on earth depends on the absorbed energy. It is also responsible for our weather, tides and the water cycle.

Plants make their own food through photosynthesis, a process that is dependent on solar energy. Take note that all living organisms get their food directly or indirectly from plants. In addition, the sun is the cause of energy available in fossils. Examples of such energy sources are petroleum and coal.

The sun is earth's main source of energy, providing both heat and light. Solar energy is applied in lighting, powering electronic devices and green houses to promote growth of plants. There would be no life without the sun.




About the Author:



Aucun commentaire:

Enregistrer un commentaire