| Diameter |
1,000,000
km |
| Average
distance from Earth |
150,000,000
km |
| Number
of known satellites |
9
(the nine planets) |
| Time
taken to turn on axis |
25
Earth days |
| Surface
gravity (Earth = 1) |
28 |
| Core
temperature |
15,000,000°c
in its centre |
| Average
surface temperature |
6000°c
at surface, 3000°c to 4000°c in sunspots |
|
At the centre of the
Solar System is a star. The Sun is a huge ball of gas which provides light
and heat to its planets. It contains 99% of all of the matter in the Solar
System and, at 4.5 billion years old, is about half way through its life.
Without the Sun, life on Earth simply wouldn't exist. The Sun is just one
of millions of stars like it in the Milky Way galaxy but is the closest
star to Earth. The next closest star is Proxima Centauri, nearly 268,000
times further away! |
