The Sun: A Space Story for Kids

Sunlight takes about 8 minutes to race 93 million miles to Earth. Fly up close to our very own star in this pick-your-path adventure. For kids 3–7+, free to preview.

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Whoosh! See that bright light up ahead? That's the Sun! Did you know it's actually a star — the closest one to Earth? And it's so old that it was already shining long before the planets were born! Here we come!

The Sun looks small in our sky at home. But that's only because it's so far away! Really, our Sun is enormous — so big that more than a million Earths could fit inside it. Everything else in our solar system is tiny next to it!

Wow — the closer we get, the bigger and brighter our star grows! It's the brightest thing in the whole sky. But we have to be careful: too much sun can be dangerous, so we have to stay protected. Hats, sunscreen, and visors on. Let's go, space explorer!

There's our amazing star! What should we explore first?

How Long Does It Take Sunlight to Reach Earth?

Sunlight takes about 8 minutes to reach Earth (8 minutes and 20 seconds on average). It travels 93 million miles (150 million km) to get here, moving at 186,000 miles (300,000 km) every second. So the sunshine on your face right now actually left the Sun about 8 minutes ago.

What Happens in the Story

In The Sun, your child flies a little ship up close to our very own star, and chooses where to explore next. Four paths lead to four different endings:

A close look at the Sun's bubbling face, where mysterious dark spots are about to cause a stormy surprise.
A peek deep inside the Sun to find the blazing engine at its heart.
A trip following the sunshine home, to discover what it has to do with your lunch.
Sun stories from around the world, from a golden chariot racing across the sky to festival bonfires.

More Sun Facts

The Sun is a star, and the closest one to Earth.
It's made mostly of hydrogen and helium, and helium is the same gas that fills party balloons.
Sunspots are cooler, darker patches on its surface, and many are as big as Earth.
Its core is the hottest place in the solar system, at about 27 million °F (15 million °C).

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Earths can fit in the Sun?

About 1.3 million. Even the biggest planet, Jupiter, could fit inside the Sun about 1,000 times. Meet Jupiter in The Planet Hop.

What causes the northern lights?

The Sun does. It's always sending out a stream of tiny particles called the solar wind, and solar storms send out extra. When those particles reach Earth, they're steered toward the North and South Poles, where they make the air glow green and pink. Near the South Pole, they're called the southern lights.