The Sun

The Sun is a star—the closest one to Earth. It is a large ball of very hot gas. The air we breathe and the Helium in a balloon are both gases. It is over 5,500 °C at the surface, and much hotter at the center, about 15 million °C. The Sun is made of mostly hydrogen (70%) and helium (28%). It turns much hydrogen into helium every second, thus creating heat and light.

The Sun makes light and heat that warms the surface of the Earth and allows plants to grow. We can get food from plants, and we can burn wood and other parts of plants to cook, warm our houses, and make cars go. Without the Sun there would be no life on Earth.