The Sun from Space

This is an image of the Sun from the SOHO Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope made available by the EIT Consortium. It was taken on April 23, 1999. The Sun is a huge, hot ball of gases. It is composed of about three-fourths hydrogen and about one-fourth helium. Its diameter is 1,384,000 km (865,000 miles). Scientists have figured out that the Sun's center has a temperature of about 15,000,000°C (27,000,000°F); its surface reaches about 5500°C (10,000°F). It's a good thing that the Sun is about 150 million kilometers (93,000,000 miles) from Earth!