What Keeps the Sun Burning?

The sun is the star at the center of our solar system. It is about 1.3 million times the size of Earth and has the mass of about 333,000 Earths. The sun will continue to burn for another 5 billion years.

Interesting facts about the Sun

Here are some interesting facts about the sun:

The sun is mostly plasma

To know what keeps the sun burning, we should first examine what the sun is made of. The sun, like nearly all other stars, is made up of plasma. Plasma is a state of matter or gas in which the particles are ionized. To simplify it, you can think of plasma as gas with an electric charge. The sun has been burning for billions of years and will continue to burn for billions more.

The gasses that make up the sun are hydrogen and helium

Did you know that the sun is mostly made up of the two gases hydrogen and helium? It’s like a cosmic recipe with these elements combining to form the majority of the sun’s mass. These two gases are also the main ingredients in most of the stars we see twinkling in the night sky.

In fact, it’s like the sun is a giant cosmic furnace powered by nuclear fusion a process of combining atoms to create new elements. This incredible process generates a massive amount of energy which keeps the sun shining bright, just like a glowing ball of fire. It’s like the sun is a celestial artist using the elements at its disposal to create something truly awe inspiring. And as it burns, it releases this energy in the form of heat and light, like a grand display of fireworks for all to see.

The sun is really, really hot

The sun is essentially the hottest thing in our solar system. This is not surprising given that it is constantly undergoing nuclear fusion. The sun’s core is huge just like the sun is! and the core is which is where most of the nuclear fusion occurs. The sun’s core, just like the rest of the star, is made up of hydrogen and helium, and it’s under an incredibly high amount of pressure.

The core of the sun is much, much hotter than the surface we see. While temperatures on the surface reaches 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit which is equal to 5500 degrees Celsius, the core of the sun reaches a staggering 27 million degrees Fahrenheit and that is about 15 million degrees Celsius.

The sun is larger than you think

You may already be aware that the sun is a large – very large. But what you may not know is just how large it is.

The sun is so huge that it could fit about 1.3 million Earths inside of it. That’s big! But size isn’t the only thing that makes the sun remarkable. For its size, the sun isn’t dense at all. The density of the sun is considered to be roughly quarter that of the Earth’s.

How long will the sun last?

The sun is a star that is made mostly of hydrogen. Hydrogen is a gas that can be found all over the universe. When it comes to the structure of the sun hydrogen atoms are constantly combining to form helium atoms. Due to this process a huge amount of heat energy and light energy is released That’s what makes the sun so bright and hot!

The sun will continue to produce energy for billions of years. But eventually, it will run out of hydrogen to turn into helium. When that happens, the sun will start to cool down and expand to be several times its current size. It will transform into a red giant star, and eventually, a white dwarf star. But don’t worry – this won’t happen for billions and billions of years!

What keeps the sun burning?

Now to answer the question of what keeps the sun burning, it is important to establish that the sun isn’t actually burning. It is undergoing nuclear fusion. But for the moment, let’s pretend like nuclear fusion is in fact burning. So what keeps the sun burning?

What keeps the sun burning is the immense pressure causing hydrogen atoms to change into helium releasing energy in the form of heat and light. To simplify this, think of hydrogen as the fuel, and helium as the end product. The process of turning hydrogen into helium is what releases heat and light (which is what we normally associate burning with). While it is exactly the definition of nuclear fusion, it is the answer to “what keeps the sun burning?”.

Harvesting energy from the sun using solar panels

Solar panels are a great way to make use of sunlight to power your home/business. Solar panels are a great way to reduce your carbon footprint and save money on your energy bills. You can read more about solar panels here.

Conclusion

It’s amazing to think that the sun, a star that’s been burning for billions of years and is still going strong. And what’s keeping this celestial ball of fire burning? Well, it’s all thanks to the nuclear fusion of hydrogen atoms into helium atoms as we discussed earlier which releases a tremendous amount of energy in the form of light and warmth.

But don’t worry, the sun isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Sure, it may eventually run out of hydrogen fuel and die, but we’re talking billions of years down the line. In the meantime, let’s bask in the sun’s radiance and soak up some vitamin D. After all, it’s the ultimate life-giver, and who doesn’t love a little warmth and humor in their lives?