| So let me
reiterate... the Sun IS a STAR... the local star, closest to
Earth... an average of 92.9 million miles away. It's surface
temperature is 9,932F... the core? 27,000,000F. Its mass is that
of 333,000 Earths, 750 times the mass of all the solar system's
planets combined, and its gravity strong enough to keep objects
3.7 billion miles away (Pluto) in its orbit. Massive as it is,
it regularly shoots gigantic
pillars of flame from its surface, and
is known for ejecting billions of tons of plasma into space.
But
what do all these fancy numbers mean??
As we all know, light
is really @$%ing fast. It can travel around the Earth 7 times in
a single second, but it takes 8 minutes (and ~20 seconds) for
light from the Sun to reach Earth. Translation: the Sun is
really @$%ing far away!! And yet we still see it, an object 92.9
million miles away, in the sky, clear as day (pun intended).
Even with the layers of clouds and thick atmosphere blocking off
most of its rays, we can't bear to look at it directly without
suffering eye damage. And what if you go higher?
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