How far away is the sun?

1. 1

   Zib says

   Picture a car zooming towards the sun at 150 kilometres an hour, with no stops for snacks or sleep. After a whole year of driving, it has barely started. It would need more than a hundred years to get there, because the sun is about 150 million kilometres away.

   For ages 8–10
   Hear Zib

   Checked against Driving to the Sun (NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day)

2. 2

   Then how does sunlight get here so fast?

   Light is the fastest thing there is. It zips about 300,000 kilometres every second. At that speed, it crosses those 150 million kilometres in about eight minutes. So the sunshine on your face left the sun about eight minutes ago.

   For ages 9–11
   Hear Zib

   Checked against What is a light-year? (NASA Space Place)

3. 3

   If it's that far away, how big is the sun really?

   Line up 100 Earths side by side, and they'd just about stretch across the sun. Fill the sun up like a hollow ball, and about 1.3 million Earths would fit inside. It only looks small in our sky because it's so very far away.

   For ages 10–11
   Hear Zib

   Checked against Sun facts (NASA Science)

In Lil' Phil, reaching the bottom of this wonder earns a sticker for Zib's collection.

• 

  Why is space dark when the sun is so bright?

  Ages 8–11Zib
• 

  What are stars made of?

  Ages 8–11Zib