Sol - Our Sun
El Sol, the Sun, le Soleil. Whatever language you speak and whatever name you give it, it is the star at the center of our tiny solar system. It has been burning for about 4.6 billion years. For most of that time it has been giving light and life to our home, Earth. Humans have worshipped it, feared it, created superstitions and myths about it. Over the last few centuries we have begun to scientifically study it.
Because of our daily interaction with the Sun, mankind has found many ways of expressing our relationship to it. Dry scientific reports. Flowery prose. Even simple poems.
Haikus are short and powerful poems. The one I wrote in the header of this page describes the power of the desert sun (and lack of it as the world spins). Or this one by Talib:
Carefully picked spot
Cat sleeping in the garden
Caressed by the Sun
The sun god Ra was used by the Egyptians in various forms over the years. As wikipedia explains Ra took on many meanings starting in the 25th century B.C. The Eye of Ra has even made it into popular culture as the pendant and image of power in the blockbuster movie Stargate.
The Greek tale by Ovid is retold in many forms. Despite warnings from his father, Icarus flew too close to the sun. Because the wings were fashioned from feathers and attached together with wax, as he went closer to the Sun, the wax melted and he fell into the sea. It is a tragic, but cautionary tale.
Yes, we have been studying the Sun scientifically for several centuries now. What do we know about it?
- Age: about 4.6 billion years
- Size: about 1.4 million kilometers in diameter
- Power: about 400 yotta watts
- Distance: about 93 million miles from earth
As you get to know more about the Sun, here are some interesting facts.