Sun

The Sun is a relatively small yellow star made of hydrogen around which the planets and planetoids of the Solar System revolve. It produces massive amounts of energy through the process of nuclear fusion, in which hydrogen is changed into helium due to the pressure generated at the center of a such a massive object. The Sun's energy is what warms the Earth and its atmosphere sufficiently to support life, and provides the energy on which all life depends. Plants convert sunlight into sugars that provide food not only for the plants, but for animals that eat those plants. Occasionally magnetic storms occur on the Sun's surface which result in the bombardment of the Solar System by massive amounts of electromagnetic radiation. This can result in damage to satellites orbiting the Earth, as well as disruption of radio and television signals. In a few billion years the Sun will evolve into a "red giant", becoming so large that it will actually engulf the Earth and other inner planets.

When the Moon comes between the Earth and the Sun, there is a solar eclipse. A total solar eclipse results in such total darkness that the stars come out in the sky for a brief period during the daytime.

Conservatives still think that the Sun revolves around the Earth, and point to the Bible for proof of this "fact".