Sun King

Lesson Overview

Students determined the actual distance to the Sun without ever leaving the Earth, and in doing so will gained a better understanding of the huge distances in the Earth-Sun-Moon system. In order to determine these distances, students will apply their understanding of mathematical models in two different ways, using a single mathematical principle.

The Sun: The Supreme Ruler of the Solar System

The Sun is at the center of the Solar System. The eight major planets and their moons as well as the smaller bodies—such as dwarf planets, asteroids, and comets—all revolve around the Sun. The Sun’s role as the center and supreme ruler of the Solar System comes from its high mass: it has 99.8% of the mass in the system and, therefore, guides the movement of the other objects via gravitational forces. Sunlight brings energy to the rest of the Solar System and largely determines the conditions prevalent at the planets, from making the sunlit side of Mercury bake in 427ºC (800ºF) heat to providing the hospitable environment for life on Earth.

The Sun’s diameter is about 1.4 million km (865,000 miles), roughly 109 times Earth’s diameter. This is the same ratio as between the height of an NFL linebacker (185 cm) and the size of a honey bee (1.7 cm). The Sun is about 150 million km (93 million miles) away from Earth. The situation is similar to the honey bee hovering about two football fields away from the linebacker. The mass of the Sun is 1.99 × 1030 kg, or about 333,000 times Earth’s mass. This is the same ratio as between a linebacker (100 kg) and three honey bees (0.1 g each).

http://journeythroughtheuniverse.org/downloads/Content/Voyage_G58_L3.pdf