mercredi 5 juin 2013

The Sun And Its Connection To The Earth

By Haywood Hunter


There are billions of stars in the sky, with the sun being the closest to Earth among them. It lies at the center of the solar system. For every 27 days, the sun rotates once. It was formed about four and a half billion years ago. It is determined that the sun is at middle of its life, meaning that it shall shine for about 5 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.

The sun is 149.6 million kilometers from the earth. Its diameter is 1.392 million kilometers, which reflects an equatorial circumference of 4.379 million kilometers. Compared to the corresponding measurements of the earth, these are 109 times more. The surface area of the sun is 6.0887 trillion kilometer square, about 11,990 times the earth. Its volume exceeds that of earth by 1.3 million.

The heat from the sun reaches the earth through radiation. This energy is known as solar energy. Note that the planet absorbs only a small portion of this energy, the rest is reflected back to space. The absorbed heat is responsible for life on earth. It is also the source of the earth's climate, wind trends and 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 basic source of energy. This energy reaches us in two main forms, light and heat. Solar energy is also applied in promoting plant growth in green houses, solar lighting and powering electronic devices. There cannot be life on earth without the sun.




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