The sun is a yellow dwarf star in the center of the solar system, and it is the largest, brightest and most massive object in the system.
The sun formed around 4.5 billion years ago. At that time, the area of the Milky Way galaxy that would become the solar system consisted of a dense cloud of gas — the remnants of an earlier generation of stars. The densest region of this cloud collapsed and gave rise to the protostar that would become the sun. As this young protostar grew, planets, moons and asteroids formed around it from what remained of this raw material, bound in orbit to their parent star by its immense gravity.
At the heart of the sun, this same force sparked nuclear fusion that powers the star. The heat and light from this nuclear reaction enabled life on Earth to evolve and prosper. However, this reaction will eventually lead to the sun’s demise, as the sun will eventually run out of nuclear fuel.
“Writer Fuel” is a series of cool real-world stories that might inspire your little writer heart. Check out our Writer Fuel page on the LimFic blog for more inspiration.
