THE SUN
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The Sun is a star, without it nearby, Earth would be as cold and lifeless as Pluto. The heat of the Sun controls our weather. It puts power behind winds and evaporates water to make clouds and rain.
The Sun has been shining for 5000 million years. Its surface is 6000
° C and looks like it’s on fire. The Sun is like a nuclear-fusion bomb. Deep down inside its super-hot core, it smashes 600 million tones of hydrogen atoms together every second, turning them into heavier helium atoms. The energy released by this atom smashing, escapes into space as light and heat. The Sun is 1 392 000 km in diameter.
Solar Eclipse
A total eclipse of the Sun is breathtaking. Once every 1 or 2 years, the Moon comes directly between the Sun and us. As a result, a shadow casts over a narrow band of the Earth. People in this band of shadow see only the Moon’s dark disk cover the Sun for a few minutes. Only the faint outer atmosphere of the Sun remains visible.
Lunar eclipse
A total eclipse of the Moon can be seen over the whole night sky of Earth. When the full Moon passes through the dark inner part of the Earth’s shadow, the Moon goes for about 1 hour. Sunlight, which filters through the Earth’s atmosphere, turns the Moon a deep red.
Wow! That’s Incredible!