| The Sun an exciting star |
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If the Sun had just shone a little more or a little less, we would either have been fried or deep frozen. The Sun lives its own active life that we know surprisingly little about. Because it is so close to us, the Sun is the only star we may study in detail. And because it is such a typical star, what we learn about the Sun may be transferred directly to other stars.
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Photo: ESA/NASA
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Research on the Sun helps us to make progress within many special fields. The Sun is like a gigantic laboratory where many phenomena take place daily it is up to us to discover, study and comprehend these phenomena. Surprisingly enough solar research has helped us to find out what will happen to the whole universe in the future.
We live in time historically unique when fantastic results, images and observations pour in every day. This applies to the greatest extent also to the research on the Sun. |
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| The Sun as a star |
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The whirlpool galaxy or M51.
Photo: NASA/STAScI/AURA |
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Since even the nearest stars in the sky are several hundred thousand times further away than the Sun, the Sun is very well suited for learning more about stars what stars are, how they are built up, where their power comes from, phenomena that occur on the stars etc. To researchers the Sun is a gigantic laboratory, to most people the Sun is a source of life, delight and joy.
The Sun is one of more than 200 billion stars in a whirl shaped assemblage of stars that we call the Milky Way Galaxy. On a dark and moonless night we may see a number of these as a vaguely shining string over the sky the Milky Way.
Is it not strange to think about the fact that there are millions of stars like our own? Round many of these stars there are planets.
Perhaps there is life on some of these planets life that at this very moment is thinking this very thought.
If we had been able to see the Milky Way Galaxy from a place far outside the galaxy, it would have been like the galaxy we see in the image at the above left the Whirl Pool Galaxy or M51. |
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| Illustration: ESA/NASA. |
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A number of projects, ongoing and planned, will reveal new amazing secrets that our Sun conceals. Those who are young now have the chance of taking part in making these discoveries and exploring space in a way that has never been done before.
The Sun has a great impact on us. In addition to giving us sunlight and heat, it is responsible for both magnificent aurora borealis and solar storms that are dangerous both for astronauts and power supplies here on the Earth. |
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