Sun
A sun is a solar body, also known as a star. There is a nuclear reaction happening in a sun that generates light, heat and radiation. It has been estimated there are 70 sextillion (70,000 million million million) suns in the Universe.
Suns are the heart of most solar systems. They form the gravity well which keeps all the planets in the system in orbit around it. Suns come in different colors and ages. Typically, when a sun dies out, it dissipates into a nebulae of some form.
Do not approach too closely to a sun, or your ship will take heat and radiation damage. Because suns are so heavy, anything that falls to their surface will be accelerated to a tremendous speed by the gravity. For a typical G class sun, a spacecraft in freefall will reach speeds of over 600 km/s — 0.2% of the speed of light. From the spacecraft's point of view, particles from the sun's atmosphere would be slamming into it at 600 km/s. These particles pack quite a punch.
Related categories
- For a listing of types of suns, see the category Suns.
- For a listing of known suns in the Universe, see the category Stars.
- For a listing of known solar systems, see the category Systems.
- For information regarding the inner workings of suns, see Stellar mechanics.
