The Sun is an incredible source of energy and heat. But just how hot is the Sun? How hot is the Sun if you touch it? Is there anything as hot as the Sun? Is the Sun hotter than lava? In this article, we’ll answer all of your questions about the incredible heat of the Sun.
How hot is the sun?
Most people know that the sun is hot, but they don’t realize just how hot it really is. The sun’s surface temperature is about 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. But the sun is actually much hotter than that. The sun’s core temperature is thought to be about 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. That’s almost three times the temperature of the hottest place on Earth!
The sun is huge! The diameter of the sun is about 864,000 miles. That means that if you could stand on the sun, you would be about halfway to the horizon in every direction. And the sun is not just big, it’s also really, really dense. The sun’s density is more than twice that of water. That means that if you could find a piece of the sun that was the size of a beach ball, it would weigh more than 2 tons!
But even though the sun is huge and dense and incredibly hot, it’s not actually on fire. The sun produces its own heat through nuclear fusion. In nuclear fusion, atoms are combined to form heavier atoms. This process releases a huge amount of energy in the form of heat and light.
All that heat has to go somewhere, and it goes into space. In fact, space is very, very cold. The baseline temperature of outer space is 2.7 kelvins (opens in new tab) — minus 454.81 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 270.45 degrees Celsius — meaning it is barely above absolute zero, the point at which molecular motion stops.
But this temperature is not constant throughout the solar system. For example, Mercury, the planet closest to the sun, has an average surface temperature of about 800 degrees Fahrenheit. And Venus, the next planet out, has an average surface temperature of about 870 degrees Fahrenheit. So even though space is cold, the sun and its planets are quite warm by comparison.
Going the Extra Mile: What would happen if you touche the Sun?
At about 1 million degrees Celsius, the surface of the sun is almost 900 times hotter than lava. If you were to touch it, you’d be exposed to massive amounts of radiation. Sunburn would be the least of your worries.
The interior of the sun is even hotter, reaching temperatures of up to 15 million degrees Celsius. That’s 150 times hotter than the surface of lava. At those temperatures, atoms start to break apart.
The sun is so hot because it’s a star. It’s made up of plasma, a super-hot gas made up of electrically charged particles. The sun’s huge gravity pulls all this plasma towards its center.
The sun is so big and so hot that it’s actually classified as a yellow dwarf. That means it’s not as massive or as hot as some other stars out there.
The sun will eventually run out of fuel and die. When that happens, it will expand into a red giant. That means it will get even bigger and hotter. Eventually, it will explode into a supernova. That’s when things really get heated up.
Sun vs. Lava: Examining which one is hotter
Lava is indeed very hot, reaching temperatures of 2,200° F or more. But even lava can’t hold a candle to the sun! At its surface (called the “photosphere”), the sun’s temperature is a whopping 10,000° F! That’s about five times hotter than the hottest lava on Earth.
The sun is so incredibly hot because it is a star. Stars are huge balls of gas that are held together by their own gravity and they produce their own energy. The sun is about 27 million degrees at its core!
That might sound like a lot, but it’s actually pretty cool compared to some other stars out there. Scientists have found stars that are a billion degrees or more! Now that’s hot.
- Lava can reach temperatures of 2,200°F.
- At its surface, the sun’s temperature is 10,000°F.
- The sun is 27 million degrees at its core!
- Some stars are a billion degrees or more.
Don’t Play with Fire! How far can the sun burn you?
The sun is about 93 million miles away from Earth, and if we think of that distance as a football field, a person starting at one end zone could get about 95 yards before burning up. That said, an astronaut so close to the sun is way, way out of position.
On a clear day, the sun’s UV rays can travel about 90 miles through the atmosphere and penetrate our skin. However, most of us are never exposed to direct sunlight for long enough to experience a serious burn. Even on a hazy day, UV radiation is scattered and dissipated in the lower atmosphere, so we don’t have to worry about being burned by the sun.
The highest level of UV radiation occurs during the summer months when the sun is highest in the sky. However, even on a cloudy day, UV rays can penetrate clouds and cause damage to your skin. It is important to wear sunscreen all year round to protect your skin from the sun’s harmful rays.
While it is possible to get a sunburn from exposure to the sun’s UV rays, it is not possible to get burned by the sun’s heat. The sun’s surface temperature is around 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, but its heat does not reach Earth because it is so far away. Even if you could get close enough to the sun to feel its heat, you would not be able to withstand its intense heat and would be vaporized instantly.
How far can the sun burn you?
The answer is that it all depends on how close you get to it. The closer you are to the sun, the more likely you are to experience a serious burn. However, even at its closest, the sun is still too far away to pose a serious threat to most of us here on Earth.
Comparisons in Temperature: How hot is the Moon?
We all know that the moon is a pretty cold place. But just how cold is it? The average temperature on the lunar surface is about -233 degrees Celsius. But that’s not the whole story.You see, the moon doesn’t have an atmosphere like Earth does. This means that there is no way for the heat to be distributed evenly across the surface.
- During the day, when the sun is beating down on the equator, the temperature can reach a boiling 250 degrees Fahrenheit (120° C, 400 K)!
- At night, when the sun is not shining, the temperature can plunge to a chilly -208 degrees Fahrenheit (-130° C, 140 K).
What does this mean for us? Well, if you’re planning a trip to the moon, make sure to pack your jacket!