StarChild: The Sun

The Sun. Some people from long ago thought of the Sun as a god. ... To keep the Sun happy, they offered it gifts such as gold and food. The Sun is our closest star. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level1/sun.html - 8k

When is Earth closest to the Sun?

When is earth closest to the Sun? ... On January 4, 2003, our Earth made its closest approach to the Sun for the year-- an event astronomers call perihelion. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question53.html - 7k

Why does the Sun rise in the east and set in the west?

Question: Why does the Sun rise in the east and set in the west? ... The Sun, the Moon, the planets, and the stars all rise in the east and set in the west. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question14.html - 7k

What makes stars shine

What makes the Sun shine? ... Every second, a star like our Sun converts 4 million tons of its material into heat and light through the process of nuclear fusion. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question13.html - 11k

Does the Sun move around the Milky Way??

Question: Does the Sun move around the Milky Way? Answer: Yes, the Sun - in fact, our whole solar system - orbits around the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question18.html - 6k

Is Pluto or Neptune farthest from the Sun?

StarChild Question of the Month for January 1999. Question: Is Pluto or Neptune farthest from the Sun? Answer: Pluto is usually farthest from the Sun. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question5.html - 5k

Understanding Angular Size

How the Sun and Moon Can Appear to be the Same Size. The diameter of the Sun is over 400 times the diameter of the Moon. So how can ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/understand_size.html - 5k

StarChild: Did you know... (The Sun)

Did you know...? Heat from the center of the Sun takes a million years to reach the Sun's surface. Once the heat leaves the Sun's ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level1/sun_know.html - 4k

StarChild: Facts about the Sun

Facts about the Sun. Revolution Period Around the Galaxy, 250 million Earth years. Rotation Period, Equatorial Region - 25 Earth days Polar Regions - 36 Earth days ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level1/sun_facts.html - 4k

How can the Sun "burn"?

Question: If there is no oxygen in space, how does the Sun "burn"? Answer: The Sun does not "burn", like we think of logs in a fire or paper burning. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question36.html - 5k

StarChild: Answer to the Sun Question

And the answer is... 3) Sun storm. A sunspot is a special type of storm on the Sun's surface. Return to StarChild homepage, Return ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level1/sun_answer.html - 4k

Total Eclipse

Eclipse. In a solar eclipse, the Moon moves between the Earth and the Sun. When this happens, part of the Sun's light is blocked. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/total_eclipse.html - 6k

What is an eclipse?

From Earth, we routinely experience two kinds of eclipses: an eclipse of the Moon and an eclipse of the Sun. Eclipses of the Moon. ... Eclipses of the Sun. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question6.html - 8k

What is the solar cycle?

Answer: The amount of magnetic flux that rises up to the Sun's surface varies with time in a cycle called the solar cycle. ... How to Observe the Sun and Sunspots. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question17.html - 8k

What are the phases of the Moon?

Just like the Earth, half of the Moon is lit by the Sun while the other half is in darkness. ... It does not show which side of the Moon is lit by the Sun. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question3.html - 8k

What is the biggest star we know?

is called the Pistol Star. It is believed to be 100 times as massive as our Sun, and 10,000,000 times as bright! In 1990, a star ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question21.html - 7k

Why is there day and night?

Question: Why is there day and night? Answer: Clearly, when you see the Sun shining in the sky, it is day, and when you don't it is night. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question31.html - 6k

StarChild: Comets

When a comet gets close to the Sun, part of the ice starts to melt. ... This forms the comet's tail. Every time a comet comes close to the Sun, a part of it melts. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level1/comets.html - 7k

What is the <A HREF = "/docs/StarChild/glossary_level1 ...

So why are the sidereal and synodic lunar months not equal in length? Remember that the Earth moves in its own orbit around the Sun. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question32.html - 6k

StarChild: The Solar System

What is the solar system? It is our Sun and everything that travels around it. Our ... egg. The Sun is in the center of the solar system. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level1/solar_system.html - 7k

What makes stars shine

Making the Sun Shine by Nuclear Fusion. All ... How many protons are there in the Sun? We can get a quick estimate by calculating. # protons ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/calculation.html - 6k

StarChild: Multidisciplinary Solar System Activities: Planet Hop

Also included in the chart is the number of Earth years it takes for that planet to make a complete revolution around the Sun. Your ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level2/activity/planet_hop.html - 9k

Why is the crescent moon sometimes lit on the bottom?

It is all a result of the Moon's orbit around the Earth, and the Earth's orbit around the Sun. ... So the lit part of the Moon always points toward the Sun. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question43.html - 8k

How can we fly through the tail of a comet?

As comets travel in their orbits around the Sun, sometimes they get close enough to the Sun to warm up enough so that the ice begins to evaporate. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question27.html - 11k

What is happening with Mars this month?

Astronomers call these close encounters "perihelic oppositions." Perihelic means Mars is near perihelion--its closest distance to our Sun. ... http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question60.html - 6k