The Sun is a star
Physics Narrative
for 11-14
Our nearest star
Beyond our solar system there are millions and millions of stars, but the nearest star to us is our own Sun.
It may not look like a star but this is simply because it is relatively close to us. Light from the Sun only takes about 8 minutes to reach us, but light from the next nearest star takes 4 years to arrive.
The Sun is a very ordinary star about halfway through its lifetime of 10 000 million years. At the end of its life, the Sun will expand into a red giant star, swallowing the Earth. It is always a bit sad to realise that the Earth will not be around forever. Stars are different than all the other elements of the solar system mentioned so far because they are a source of light. That light is emitted as a result of nuclear reactions.
