You can easily call space the land of the unknown. It’s vastness and anonymity is what makes it even more appealing. While one may think that they know a lot about the universe, there is an endless ocean of information that no one knows. Did you know that there is a planet, double the size of Earth, which is literally made of diamonds? 

It may come as a surprise but our home star is one of the most interesting celestial bodies in our solar system. Not only is it responsible for light and life on Earth, some cultures even worship the Sun as a god. Check out these 10 interesting facts about the Sun that will give you a better understanding of the star. 

• It’s BIG

We all know Sun is big, but not everyone understands its enormity. It is 1,989,100,000,000,000,000,000 billion kilograms, which is the weight of roughly 3,30,060 Earths. If it was hollow, the Sun could fit about 1 million spherical Earths, even more, if no space was wasted. Its surface area is approximately 12,000 times larger than our home’s (The Earth, of course) surface area. Despite being so ginormous, it is only one of the billion stars in the Milky Way and not even the biggest. However, it is the biggest star in our solar system. In fact, the Sun actually makes up for 99.58% of the solar system, while the rest is occupied by the planets, comets, and satellites; in that order. 

• It’s VERY hot, even more so on the inside

To say the Sun is hot would be an understatement. The surface temperature of the Sun is roughly 5500 degrees Celsius or 5778 Kelvin or 9941 degrees Fahrenheit. But, however hot it is on the surface, the inside is 1000 times hotter. The temperature at the core is 27 million Celsius, which is 40000 times hotter than boiling water. To match the energy output generated at the core of the Sun, dynamite weighing 100 billion tons would have to explode every second. 

• Suicide is linked with solar activity

According to The British Journal of Psychiatry (1994), New Scientist magazine, and a 2006 Australian study, there is proof that when a geomagnetic storm is at its peak, there is an increase in suicide rates. According to Oleg Shumilov, a Russian researcher, the solar winds are at peak from March to May, in July, and in October from 1948 to 1997. When compared to the suicide rates in Kirovsk, a Russian city, he found a significant difference during the peak months. While this is not enough proof, there are other scientists who discovered the same. 

• NASA’s space mission to touch the Sun

NASA has launched a space mission, which intends to ‘touch the Sun’. They want to study how the Sun affects Earth’s magnetic field. While this mission will answer a lot of questions and help understand the solar system better, it will raise even more questions for the future. The mission ‘Parker Solar Probe’ is the first space mission ever by NASA that is named after a living man. While it is true that missions are named after us humans, this is the only one named after a living individual. Dr. Eugene Parker is a physician, born in 1927, coined the term ‘solar wind’, and has received numerous awards for his work in the field. To honor his life achievements, NASA decided to name this mission after him. 

• Sun will die one day

Everyone knows that a day will come when the Sun will die. The Sun’s lifespan is 10 billion years (approximately) and is around 5 billion years old presently. While it is in its middle age, scientists are worried around the world what it will mean for life on Earth. With time, the greenhouse effect will increase, the Sun will become brighter and larger and then shrink, which the change Earth’s orbit. There is also a possibility that life may form elsewhere and Milky Way may emerge with Andromeda galaxy. If there is life on Earth after 5 billion years, it will become impossible after the Sun starts to die. While these are just some theories and possibilities, it is true that one day the Sun will die. 

• It’s not just good for vitamin D

We all have heard that going out in the Sun is important. It provides vitamin D to the body. However, that is not the only benefit of the Sun. It is said that watching a sunset or sunrise 2-3 times a week makes you happier and optimist, helps treat depression, and even increases your lifespan. Also, if you take a 20-minute nap just before Sunrise during an all-nighter, you will wake afresh and energetic. That is why it is important to go out in the Sun. But make sure that you do not overdo it as excessive UV rays can also harm your body and mental health. 

• The Sun is not yellow

Contrary to popular beliefs, the Sun is not actually yellow in color. Just like the Earth, the Sun is also greenish-blue in color. However, due to Earth’s atmosphere, which scatters some color wavelengths, the Sun appears yellow instead of its original shades. 

• Light reaches Earth in about 8 minutes

Sun is 151.49 million km away from Earth, which is why it takes about 8 minutes for sunlight to reach Earth’s surface. While most people know this, they do not connect the dots that if Sun ever vanishes into thin air, we will not know for about 8 minutes, which is quite interesting! However, this will be catastrophic for life on Earth and it will end in a matter of weeks. 

• You look, you sneeze

There is something called ‘photic sneeze reflex’, which one-third of the population experiences. It means that 1/3 of the people on Earth sneeze when they look at the Sun directly. The same can also be said about other bright objects. Aristotle speculated that this is because the Sun warmed up the nose. However, scientists today believe that this happens because of the trigeminal nerve. 

• It ‘rolls over’ every 11 years

When the Sun reaches its time of greatest activity or solar maximum, it’s ‘magnetic field reverses’, which means the north and south pole switch. This happens every eleventh year. However, since it does not have any harm on life here on Earth, not many known this about the Sun, which is a shame since essentially we are upside down.