In the sky or solar system, the sun and moon are the 2 most conspicuous celestial objects. From our vantage point, the Sun and the Moon appear to be almost identical in size.
As a result, solar eclipses can occur, in which the Moon crosses in front of the Sun, just covering it from our perspective.
Even though they are both celestial objects, they vary in terms of form, mass, and influence on the Earth and solar system.
Key Takeaways
- The Sun is a star at the center of our solar system, providing light and energy for life on Earth.
- The Moon is Earth’s natural satellite, orbiting our planet and influencing tides, among other effects.
- The Sun’s mass and size are significantly greater than the Moon’s, while the Moon is closer to Earth.
Sun vs Moon
The sun’s heat and light are essential for life on Earth, but can also have negative effects like sunburn and skin cancer. The moon’s gravity affects the ocean’s tides and has significantly impacted the cultural and religious beliefs of many societies throughout history.
The Sun is 149,600,000 kilometers distant from Earth. It is a yellow dwarf star at the solar system’s core. The interplay of the sun and the earth is responsible for weather, ocean circulation, seasons, climate, and so on.
There would have been no life on Earth if the Sun did not provide heat, energy, or light.
The Moon, a celestial body, is the Earth’s sole natural satellite. It circles the Earth once every 27.322 days and completes one spin.
Its normal distance from Earth is around 238,855 miles (384,400 km). It is approximately 27 percent the size of the Earth and has a diameter of 2,159 miles.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Sun | Moon |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A yellow dwarf star at the center of the solar system | A celestial body that orbits the Earth. |
| Size | 1.4 million Km across | 3,474 Km across |
| Light | Produces its light | Reflects the light of the sun |
| Distance from Earth | 92,900,000 miles away | 238,855 miles away |
| Heat Source | Nuclear fusion occurs at its core | Heated by the sun |
| Temperature | 15 million degrees Celsius at the core; 5,500 degrees Celsius at the surface | 134 degrees Celsius on the light side; –153 degrees Celsius on the dark side |
What is Sun?
The Sun, which is located in the outer reaches of the Milky Way Galaxy, was generated from material that was processed within a supernova. The Sun is not, contrary to popular belief, a tiny star.
Although it is halfway between the smallest and largest stars of its class, there are so many dwarf stars that the Sun is in the top 5% of stars in its immediate vicinity.
The solar system is held together by the Sun’s gravity, and the induced charges in the Sun generate a magnetic field that is disseminated over the solar system by solar radiation, which is a stream of high-energy particles discharged from the Sun in all dimensions.
The calendar year and day are based on the sun, which the Earth circles. The sun spins once every about 25 days.
The Sun’s surface temperature is so extreme that no solid or liquid can survive; the constituent constituents are largely gaseous atoms with a handful of molecules. As a result, there is no permanent covering.
The Sun has been burning for 4.6 billion years. According to model simulations, the Sun illuminates by 10% per billion years, meaning that it is now at minimum 40% brighter than it was during the period of planet formation.
This would cause the Earth’s temperature to rise, but there is still no indication of this in the fossil evidence. The greenhouse effect and cloud cover were most likely thermostatic factors on the Earth’s atmosphere.
The newborn Sun may have been larger and so brighter, but it would have shed its early mass owing to the solar wind. The Sun is the Solar System’s primary star.
It is a virtually perfect ball of hot plasma that has been warmed to incandescence in its core by nuclear fusion operations, and it distributes energy mostly as visible light, ultraviolet light, and infrared radiation.
What is the Moon?
The Moon is a planetary-mass object that evolved into a separate rocky body, making it a satellite planet, according to geophysical criteria.
It is devoid of an atmosphere, a hydrosphere, and a magnetic field. It possesses about one-sixth the surface gravity of Earth.
The moon’s core is quite small, accounting for about 1 to 2 percent of the total mass of the moon. It also has a very thin atmosphere, which allows even a footprint to go unnoticed for decades.
It is a spherical rocky satellite with a small metallic core that circles Earth in a slightly eccentric orbit at around 384,000 kilometers on average.
Moon has an equatorial radius of 1,738 km and a flattened shape that protrudes slightly toward Earth. The Moon is Earth’s only natural satellite.
It is the Solar System’s largest natural satellite in proportion to the size of a giant planet, the fifth largest satellite overall, and larger than any known dwarf planet. It is approximately one-quarter the size of the Earth.
Its English name is derived from Germanic and Old English. Throughout history, the Moon’s stark beauty has piqued people’s interest and produced a rich cultural and metaphorical legacy.
The Moon was revered as a divinity in ancient cultures, and its dominance was evident in its cyclical control over the tides and the cycle of female fertility.
The Moon is claimed to have the power to embed magic in spells, transform humans into monsters, and send people’s behaviors teetering perilously between sane and insane.
Main Differences Between Sun and Moon
- The Sun is a yellow dwarf star in the core of the solar system, while the Moon is a celestial body that circles the Earth.
- The sun is 1.4 million kilometers across, whereas the moon is 3,474 kilometers across.
- The sun generates its light, whereas the moon mirrors the sun’s light.
- The sun is 92,900,000 miles distant from the earth, whereas the moon is 238,855 miles away.
- The sun’s heat source is nuclear fusion at its center, whereas the moon is heated by the sun.
- The temperature of the sun is 15 million degrees Celsius at its core and 5,500 degrees Celsius at its surface, whereas the temperature of the moon is 134 degrees Celsius on the light side and –153 degrees Celsius on the dark side.
- https://projecteuclid.org/journalArticle/Download?urlid=10.1007%2FBF02417081
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0885201496900155
Last Updated : 21 July, 2023
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Piyush Yadav has spent the past 25 years working as a physicist in the local community. He is a physicist passionate about making science more accessible to our readers. He holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science. You can read more about him on his bio page.
