Which statement about the Sun is true?
A) The Sun makes energy on the inside.
B) The Sun uses energy from the planets
C) The Sun reflects energy of the stars.
D) The Sun takes energy from outer space.
The Sun's energy also powers Earth's weather and, through evaporation, the water cycle. What Earth would be like without these essential processes working properly is anyone's guess. It's safe to say that life on Earth wouldn't exist very long if the Sun went out.
Scientists have long known that the Sun makes life on Earth possible. We use the Sun's energy in many different ways. But just how does the Sun produce all that energy? To find out, we need to get to the heart of the matter and travel all the way to the Sun's core.
Unlike Earth, which is made up mostly of iron, rock, water, and many other elements, the Sun is made up primarily of hydrogen gas. The Sun is similar to Earth in one way, however: its core is by far its hottest part.
In addition to intense heat, there is an incredible amount of pressure at the Sun's core. In fact, the vast amounts of hydrogen atoms in the Sun's core are compressed and heated so much that they fuse together.
This reaction, known as nuclear fusion, converts hydrogen atoms into helium. The by-product of nuclear fusion in the Sun's core is a massive volume of energy that gets released and radiates outward toward the surface of the Sun and then into the solar system beyond it.
