Why is the Sun important?

Without the sun, most plants and animals would not survive.

Energy comes up from inside the burning hot centre of the sun. It reaches the sun’s boiling, bubbling surface. Then it shoots out into space as light.

The sun’s light spreads out in all directions through space. It travels at 299,792 kilometres per second. That is about 10 million times faster than most cars move along a motorway.

How do plants make energy from sunlight? Plants are like factories where food is made. Green leaves are made up of millions of tiny cells, like little bags. When sunlight passes into a leaf, those tiny cells catch and hold the sun’s energy. Using the captured sunlight for power, the plant’s cells turn water and a gas from the air into a kind of sugar. The sugar is stored-up energy that is used by the plant.

Much of the sun’s light speeds on into the endless darkness of space. But some heads straight for Earth. It passes through our sky and travels down to us. Here it strikes leaves and blades of grass. Plants use the sun’s energy to make their own food and to grow.

Once a plant has grown, perhaps cattle will eat it. Now the cattle will have the plant’s energy. In time, the bodies of the cattle may be turned into steaks and hamburgers for people to eat. The energy that came from the sun will then go into people’s bodies. People will use this energy to work or play.

Of course, people also eat plants. When that happens, the people get energy straight from the plants.

All living things must take in energy to stay alive. And nearly all energy comes from the sun. So the sun gives us much more than just light and heat. It truly gives us life.

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