The Sun is a star
Know that the Sun is a star — the closest star to Earth — and that it is at the centre of our solar system, with all eight planets orbiting around it
What a learner can do afterwards
- State that the Sun is a star, not a unique type of object
- Explain that the Sun appears bigger and brighter than other stars because it is much closer
- Describe the solar system as the Sun at the centre with planets orbiting around it
The lesson
You already know the Sun warms our days, and stars twinkle in the night sky. Here is the surprise: the Sun is a star too. It is simply the one that lives closest to us.
Mia held a flashlight close to her face, and it looked huge and bright. She walked across the yard and held up the very same flashlight, and now it looked tiny. The Sun is like that flashlight. It is a star, the same kind of thing as the ones at night, it just happens to be nearby.
If the Sun were moved as far away as other stars, it would shrink down to a tiny twinkle too. Distance is the trick.
The Sun is a star, just the closest one, and it sits at the centre while all eight planets orbit around it.
Watch it
Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.