The Sun

NEAR EARTH
The Moon
Hubble Telescope
Meteors
THE SOLAR SYSTEM
The Sun
Mercury
Venus
Mars
   Deimos
   Phobos
Jupiter
   Europa
   Io
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
ASTEROIDS:
Eros
Gaspra
Vestra
COMETS:
Hale-Bopp
Halley
Hyakutake
West
The energy that powers the sun is a nuclear reaction called 'fusion', where the nuclei of atoms are forced together to create new nuclei. The hydrogen that makes up most of the sun is slowly being turned into helium, and releasing a lot of energy. This occurs in the center, where temperatures reach 15,000,000° C. Every second, 600 million tonnes of hydrogen are converted into helium. In the process, 5 million tons of pure energy is released; so as time goes on, the Sun is becoming lighter. (You can learn more about this process on our page about nuclear fusion).

[BACK]

STARS
A Star is Born
Death of a Star
Supergiants
Neutron Stars
Pulsars
A Planet Beyond
NEBULAE
A Nebula
Nebula 2366
Nebula 604
GALAXIES
Center of Our Galaxy
Dust Lanes
Andromeda (M31)
M 100
M 51
M 83
Irregular Galaxy
THE UNUSUAL
Gravitational Lens
Black Hole Galaxy
Clusters of Galaxies
Colliding Galaxies
Quasars
Supernova Remnant
Black Hole
Navigate Our Galaxy
The Virtual Telescope

For more detailed information, visit our site 'We Are Not Alone'
You might also like to visit our sister site, The Virtual Microscope


Space | Science | Worsley School


Content, Graphics, & Design by Bill Willis 2000
Wunderland Website Design