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Teh Sun: More Than Just a Shining Light
Our sun, the star at the centre of our solar system, is a dynamic and constantly evolving celestial body. While seemingly constant in our daily lives, it’s far from static, exhibiting motion, change, and a basic role in sustaining life on Earth.
- Orbital Motion - The sun is in motion, orbiting the center of the Milky Way galaxy at an approximate speed of 828,000 kilometers per hour (514,000 miles per hour). One complete orbit takes roughly 225 million years – a period known as a galactic year.
- Stellar Evolution – The sun is not eternal in its current state. In approximately 5 billion years,it will exhaust its hydrogen fuel and begin to expand into a red giant. Following this phase,it will eventually collapse into a white dwarf,undergoing significant changes in both size and luminosity.
- Essential for Life – Life as we know it is entirely dependent on the sun. It provides the energy that drives photosynthesis in plants, regulates Earth’s climate, and powers the global water cycle, influencing virtually every biological and physical process on our planet.
- Not a Perfect Sphere – the sun’s rotation causes it to be slightly flattened at the poles. This means it isn’t a perfect sphere, but rather an oblate spheroid.
Source: Wikipedia / national Geographic / Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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