our amazing sun

Most people take so many things for granted, like life itself, for instance.

OUR AMAZING SUN

Since its launch into orbit around the Earth in 2011, the Solar Dynamics Observatory has taken a million detailed images of the sun, such as this one (click the pic)

The sun is an enormous nuclear furnace. At its core, 655 million tons of hydrogen are fused into 650 million tons of helium every second, at a temperature of 30 million degrees Fahrenheit. 

In the process, the missing five million tons of matter are converted into 400 trillion trillion watts of energy. After a tortuous trek lasting up to a million years, the core-generated energy works its way to the surface and is radiated into space, mostly as light.

The Sun's steady energy output is crucial for life on Earth. An abrupt change of only a few percent in the Sun's production would vastly alter global climatic conditions.

Apparently, the Sun has never had a serious power surge or outage, which is why we are still here to marvel about it.

Do you feel the urge to worship something? Well, here's the real giver of all life on Earth: the sun. And as long as we have the sun, we can have solar power. Can't say that about fossil fuels.