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• The sun acts as the center of the Earth's solar system and comprises over 99% of the solar system's mass. The Earth and its moon revolve around the sun, as do the other planets in our solar system.World Book at NASA: Sun The sun warms our planet, providing light and other energy without which life on Earth would not be possible.

• Fast Facts

  1. Radius: 432,000 milesWorld Book at NASA: Sun
  2. Distance from Earth: 92,960,000 milesWorld Book at NASA: Sun
  3. Mass: 2 X 1027 tonsWorld Book at NASA: Sun
  4. Age: 4.5 billion yearsSuntrek: The Sun's vital statistics
  5. Core temperature: 15,000,000°CSuntrek: The Sun's vital statistics
  6. Surface temperature: 6,000°CSuntrek: The Sun's vital statistics
  7. Energy production: 386 billion billion megawatts per secondNinePlanets.org: The Sun

• Composition

  The sun is composed of magnetically charged gases whose atoms, due to extreme heat, have separated into electrically charged ions and electrons. Once the gaseous atoms have separated into these magnetically charged particles, it creates matter known as plasma. About 72% of the sun's mass consists of hydrogen atoms, 26% is helium and the remaining mass is comprised of other gaseous and metallic elements such as oxygen, silicon, carbon and magnesium.World Book at NASA: Sun

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