The Sun

Distance from Earth: 93 million miles (149.7 million km)
Name: From a 3,000-year-old word, "sunne"
Type: Star
Length of day: 609 hours
Temperature: 5,600 degrees C (10,000 degrees F)

The Sun is the only star in our solar system. It is a giant ball of hot, glowing gas. Its huge size makes it so powerful that the Sun holds our solar system together. The Sun is so bright and hot that it also makes all the light and heat for all the planets in our solar system.

Distance of planets to the Sun

Mercury: 36 million miles (57.9 million km)
Venus: 67.2 million miles (108.1 million km)
Earth: 93 million miles (149.7 million km)
Mars: 141.6 million miles (227.9 million km)
Jupiter: 483.8 million miles (778.6 million km)
Saturn: 890.8 million miles (1,433.6 million km)
Uranus: 1,784.8 million miles (2,872.4 million km)
Neptune: 2,793.1 million miles (4,495.1 million km)