Introduction

The Sun is the star at the center of our Solar System.  Stars are big balls of gas and the only bodies in space that produce light.  Our Sun gives the Earth light and heat. All other stars are so far away that they appear only as dots of light in the night sky.

All nine of the planets in our Solar System revolve around the Sun.  Earth is the third planet from the Sun.  A year is how long it takes for a planet to go around the Sun once.  It takes Earth 365 days to go around the Sun. 

It is daytime when the side of Earth where we live is facing the Sun.  But, as the Earth spins, our side of the Earth slowly turns away from the Sun and the sky darkens to night. 

The Sun is very important for life on Earth. Humans use the light and energy from the Sun to keep us warm, to generate electricity, to grow food, to provide us entertainment, and much more. Without the Sun, humans could not live on the Earth because the temperature would be much too cold and there would be no light and energy to grow food.

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G A L L E R Y If the Sun was no larger than a tennis ball, and the Earth no larger than a grain of sand, how far apart would they be? [find the answer]

M O R E Learn more about the sun at the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum.