| The Sun is the closest star to Earth. The Sun is a huge mass of hot, glowing gas. The strong gravitational pull of the Sun holds Earth and the other planets in the solar system in orbit. The Suns light and heat influence all of the objects in the solar system and allow life to exist on Earth.The Sun is an average star-its size, age, and temperature fall in about the middle of the ranges of these properties for all stars. Astronomers believe that the Sun is about 4.6 billion years old and will keep shining for about another 7 billion years. |
