~ The Sun is a star found at the center of the Solar System. ~ It makes up around 99.86% of the Solar Systems mass. ~ At around 1,392,000 kilometres (865,000 miles) wide, the Suns diameter is about 110 times wider than Earths. ~ Around 74% of the Suns mass is made up of hydrogen. Helium makes up around 24% while heavier elements such as oxygen, carbon, iron and neon make up the remaining percentage. ~ Light from the Sun reaches Earth in around 8 minutes. ~ The Suns surface temperature is around 5500 degrees Celsius (9941 degrees Fahrenheit), so pack plenty of sunscreen if you plan on visiting (remembering that the average distance from the Sun to the Earth is around 150 million kilometers). ~ The Suns core is around 13600000 degrees Celsius. ~ The Sun generates huge amounts of energy by combining hydrogen nuclei into helium. This process is called nuclear fusion. ~ Because of the Suns huge influence on Earth, many early cultures saw the Sun as a deity or god. For example, Ancient Egyptians had a sun god called Ra while in Aztec mythology there is a sun god named Tonatiuh. ~ The Sun produces a solar wind which contains charged particles such as electrons and protons. They escape the Suns intense gravity because of their high kinetic energy and the high temperature of the Suns corona (a type of plasma atmosphere that extends into space). ~ Planets with strong magnetic fields such as Earth manage to deflect most of these charged particles as they approach. ~ A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth.