The Sun is located in the "suburbs" of the Milky Way galaxy, around 30,000 light-years from the center and within one of its spiral arms. It revolves around the galaxy's center at an average speed of 155 miles per second, taking 225 million years to complete each circuit.

Although the Sun is just one star among an estimated 400 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy, it is the closest star to Earth. More importantly, it is the only star that provides Earth with enough light, heat, and energy to sustain life. Also, the strong gravitational pull of the Sun holds the Earth in orbit within its solar system.

Many people forget that the Sun is a star because it looks so big and different when compared to other stars and because the Sun appears in the sky during the day, whereas other stars only appear at night. Because the Sun is...