2 May 2010

The True Power of the Sun

The sun is what we rely on for everything, really.  Without it we would be lost, an ice cold ball in the midst of darkest space.  So, this is why we usually study it at school and - wow - what a lot of facts and figures there are about the star which sustains us.

Did you know, for example, that our sun is so large that over one million of this planet we call earth would fit inside it?  That is pretty big by our standars, but in fact our sun is on the small side when compared with other stars.  Makes you feel pretty small.

If you want to learn more about the true power of the sun, click on this link and take a look at a fascinating article written by Mr Ghaz.

While we are on the subject of stars, Timon and Pumba from Disney's The Lion  King had one of my favorite discussions about stars, in fact let's reproduce it here...

Pumbaa: Timon, ever wonder what those sparkly dots are up there?
Timon: Pumbaa, I don't wonder; I know.
Pumbaa: Oh. What are they?
Timon: They're fireflies that got stuck up in that bluish-black thing.
Pumbaa: Oh, gee. I always thought they were balls of gas burning billions of miles away.
Timon: Pumbaa, with you, everything's gas.

(If that doesn't make you want to watch the movie again, then what exactly might?)