What is the sun?

 

The sun is the closest star to the earth, at around 150 million kilometres away, and is mostly made up of hydrogen (79%) and helium (19%). In a process called core fusion occurring in the centre of the sun, hydrogen fuses together into helium, producing energy. This energy is emitted in the form of electromagnetic radiation (sunlight). Sunlight takes around 8 minutes to reach the earth.

The projected lifespan of our sun is 10 billion years. Our sun is currently a yellow dwarf star (class G2) and is much heavier and hotter than the average star. It is located at a distance of 27,000 light years from the centre of the Milky Way galaxy. The sun makes a revolution around the centre of the Milky Way about once every 250 million years.