An Afternoon Under the Sun

Our star is 93,000,000 miles away but still
close enough to make an afternoon outdoors
a pleasure... oh, an make life on Earth
possible.

It's a gorgeous afternoon. Bright. Warm. Just a light breeze. The kind of afternoon where you finally begin to realize that there just might be an end to what feels like the longest winter in the history of mankind.

It's been a long time since the weather's been nice enough to enjoy some time on the patio. Finally being out here again is a spirit-lifting change. Even the dogs are stretched out on the bricks, catching some much-needed, natural Vitamin D.

You can feel the warmth as the sun's rays bounce off your skin and clothing. After a few minutes, you're actually warm enough to begin radiating some of that heat away yourself. Ahhhhhhh.

But, just for a moment, think about what's really happening here. It's a smidge mind-blowing, actually.

What's warming your body, making your eyes squint in the brightness and burning your skin (if you're out in the direct rays long enough) is the sun. Our very own star. You knew that. Duh.

And... wait for it... the sun is nearly 93,000,000 miles away.

Umm, that's kind of a long way. To us, anyway.

That flaming ball of hydrogen and helium a thousand times the size of our planet is so hot, that we have to be this far away in order to be cool enough that our spherical little rock can have liquid water in its atmosphere and oceans. Any closer and the water would turn to steam and severely curtail our quality of life.

Imagine sitting around a campfire on a chilly autumn evening. If you're within a few feet of the flames, it's too hot. You have to step back another foot or so to find a comfortable zone. But if you step back another foot, it's too cold and you start to shiver. And the whole time, you keep turning back and forth because the side of you facing away from the fire is downright cold.

Our star is doing the same thing as that campfire... but from 93,000,000 miles away. We lucked out an found an orbit in that comfort zone.

When you've been out in the sun for a few minutes and think you're feeling a little too hot, just imagine how hot it is on Mercury and Venus. You'll need some serious SPF if you plan to vacation there.

Enjoy the beautiful weather! It's great to see (and feel) the warmth of our star again!