The only star in the solar system is the Sun. Eight planets revolve around it, including our Earth, the only one where organic life has been discovered.
We all enjoy watching sunsets, sunrises, the northern lights and other fantastic natural phenomena associated with the Sun, but how much do we know about it?
Myths and legends
In ancient times, people could not explain the structure of the Universe, but they understood the significance of the heavenly body for life, worshiped and deified it. Beautiful and poetic legends were created in different parts of the earth.
The Sun God of the ancient Egyptians was Ra. According to their beliefs, God moved across the sky in a golden boat during the day, and at night under the ground he fought with dark forces and always defeated evil.
The Slavs before the adoption of Christianity also worshiped the Sun, calling it Yaril or Dazhd-God. To strengthen their power, they inspired their subjects with the idea that they were the direct descendants of the luminary. Many beliefs and rituals have survived to our time, for example, the celebration of Maslenitsa.
In the ancient Slavic myth, Mag-Cheese-Earth rested in darkness and cold, until a beautiful young man, God Yarilo, cast a "radiant gaze" at her. Mother Earth woke up, absorbed the hot rays, from which plants and animals, seas and lakes appeared. Then a man was born in the bowels of the planet. This is how our ancestors, the Slavs, explain the appearance of all living things.
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According to ancient Greek myths, the gods of Olympus ruled the world. Helios (translated as the Sun), the son of the supreme god Zeus, every morning in a golden chariot swept across the sky from the east to the west. In the evening, he got into a boat and sailed on it to the place where the star was supposed to rise.
Interesting Facts
Scientists have determined that the sun has existed for over four billion years.
A ray of sunlight takes 8 minutes to reach the Earth's surface, overcoming 150 million km during this time.
The human eye sees the Sun as pale yellow, orange, red. In fact, it is white, and shades are given by "atmospheric scattering" - a natural phenomenon.
Earth's gravity is 28 times less, which means that if a person's weight on their home planet is 80 kg, then on the Sun it will increase to 2240 kg.
The star is 400 times larger than the Moon, it is gradually increasing in size and in 8-9 billion years will be 200 times larger than it is now.
The core temperature of the object reaches 15 million degrees C.
The entire solar system is in constant motion around the center of the Galaxy, passing more than 200 km per second.
The luminary is a gas ball without a solid core, in its composition: hydrogen - 92%, helium - 7%.
The solar atmosphere consists of the photosphere, which forms the visible surface, the chromosphere and the corona. Ionized particles, the so-called solar wind, emerge from the outer part of the corona.
Interestingly, in 1999, the Romanian authorities issued a plastic bill with a translucent window specifically for observing the total eclipse, which was best observed in this country.
Sunbathe or not?
The sun emits two types of waves that act differently on the body - infrared and ultraviolet.
Infrared creates a thermal effect, acts as a vasodilator, normalizes blood circulation, improves muscle condition.
Stimulates brain function and improves vision.
Heals skin diseases, improves mood, normalizes sleep and wake hours.
Scientists still argue about the effect of ultraviolet radiation on the body, but it has been established that its deficiency leads to health problems:
• vitamins and minerals are poorly absorbed, which weakens the immune system, metabolism is disturbed at the cellular level;
• chronic diseases become aggravated, often with complications;
• a person suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome, his performance is reduced.
Children especially need the sun's rays for proper development, since a deficiency of ultraviolet radiation prevents the production of vitamin D.
For all the usefulness of sunbathing, they are contraindicated: for neoplasms, acute inflammatory processes, tuberculosis, endocrine, cardiovascular and gynecological diseases.
Older people and small children should not be in the open sun for a long time.
Excessive radiation can lead to heatstroke, impair vision, adversely affect the skin condition, provoke allergic reactions and hormonal disruptions.
Influence on earth processes
The sun participates in photosynthesis, leads to the appearance of geomagnetic storms, which, in turn, cause a natural phenomenon of extraordinary beauty - the polar, or northern lights.
Thanks to solar energy, such natural phenomena as precipitation, storms, thunderstorms and others occur.
The existence of the plant world is possible only under the influence of sunlight. In particular, photosynthesis is impossible without sunlight.
Plants constantly purify the air by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. For this process, energy is spent, which is given by the rays of our star.
Back in the 19th century, scientists discovered that light has an effect on oxidative processes in cells, and also enhances gas exchange and tissue regeneration.
Some experts believe that the rays of light act as a stimulant on the body of livestock, improving the absorption of food and accelerating weight gain.
Herds of animals migrate according to solar rhythms, viruses and bacteria multiply.
Research in recent years
The sun has always attracted the attention of scientists; now it is observed with the help of special binocular telescopes. The most accurate data on a celestial body is obtained from satellites or spacecraft, which are miniature observatories.
From the very beginning of space exploration, devices were launched to study the luminary. The first were the US satellites, launched in the early 60s. In Germany in 1976 Helios-2 was launched, approaching the star by 0.29 AU. e. (1 AU - 150 million km).
In 1990, the Ulysses probe entered solar orbit and orbited the Sun eight years after launch. It was found that the object is constantly increasing in size and has a magnetic field in the form of a spiral.
NASA plans to launch Solar Probe Plus, which should approach the star at a distance 7 times less than Helius-2, and enter a circular orbit. The equipment will be protected from radiation and high temperatures by a carbon fiber reinforced screen.
The planned speed of Solar Probe Plus is not less than 200 km / s, it will be the fastest man-made object in space (the speed of Helios -2 is three times less).
Astronomers argue that the Earth should soon die due to the rise in temperature on the Sun. You should not be especially scared, this will happen at least in 4 billion years, and during this time scientists will help find a new home on some habitable planet in a neighboring galaxy.