Sun Facts from Green Road Solar

No one knows the power of the sun better than solar energy companies. After all, we are in the business of harnessing its energy to power our homes and lessen
our impact on the environment. Solar panels and other associated technologies are changing the way we think about energy and how we interact with our planet’s resources, and we are learning more each day. But what about the sun itself? How much do you really know about our local star?

Sun Facts

Local Star

The sun is at the center of our solar system, but that isn’t the only reason why it is such a defining part of our place in the galaxy. It also accounts for about 99% of the mass in the entire solar system. As a yellow dwarf star, the sun isn’t one of the largest stars in our galaxy, but it outsizes red dwarf stars which are the most common. In other words, our sun, on average, is bigger than most other stars.

Nuclear Fusion

The light and heat given off by the sun is produced by the process of nuclear fusion. Nuclear fusion occurs when hydrogen atoms combine to form helium. As gravity does its work inside the sun, the pressure forces hydrogen to come together and create helium; during the process, some of the mass from the hydrogen is converted into energy that takes the form of light.

At the Speed of Light

Because of the sun’s distance from the earth, it takes time for its light to reach us. Light travels at 300,000 kilometers a second, which is incredibly fast. But the sun is about 150 million kilometers from the earth. At that speed and over that distance (remember, time=distance/speed) it takes about 8 minutes and 20 seconds for the sun’s light to reach earth.