Sun Facts
Gee-Whiz! We know the Sun has a lot to do with space weather, but here are some other interesting facts about the giant star.
1. Only about one-billionth of the total energy emitted by the sun reaches Earth.
2. Because of the solar wind produced by the Sun, it loses over 50 billion tons of material per day.
3. Light from the Sun reaches Earth in about eight minutes.
4. You could fit over 1.3 million Earths inside the Sun.
5. The Sun’s gravity is 28 times that of Earth.
Image courtesy of NOAA.
Learn some interesting facts about space weather!
- Jupiter has stormy weather quite like Earth’s, only more so. On Earth, storms like hurricanes and cyclones are fueled by the warm ocean. The water is heated by sunlight, which drives weather on Earth. But, Jupiter is five times farther from the Sun than Earth. Jupiter generates nearly 70 percent more heat (internally) than it absorbs from the Sun. The most notable storm on Jupiter is the Great Red Spot (pictured below), which is a constant rotating storm that is large enough to contain two to three planets the size of Earth!
- Saturn’s moon Titan (pictured below) is the only moon large enough in the solar system to support an atmosphere. Titan has weather features similar to those on Earth, including clouds, lightning, rain and even fog.
- It never rains on Mars. Liquid water cannot exist because Mars has a thin atmosphere and is constantly bombarded by solar winds and radiation from the Sun. However, clouds do occasionally form and snow does fall.
Images courtesy of NASA.
1,700 playgrounds across the country,
