Thursday, July 19, 2007 — With everything going on in our busy lives, it's easy to take the Sun for granted. It rises and sets every day, shines warmly some days, and hides behind clouds on others. But you'll be amazed at what the Sun does for the Earth!

The Sun is the closest star to us and it's about 93 million miles away. And, without the Sun, there would be no life on Earth. The Sun nourishes all growing things (by providing light for plants to grow and produce oxygen, for example), and the Earth's interactions with the Sun are responsible for the weather, seasons, and general climate of our planet.

Ever wondered how hot the Sun is? Well, at its core, the temperature is about 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. Closer to the surface, the temperature may be in the range of 3.5 million degrees Fahrenheit. Still pretty warm, in my opinion.

In case you didn't know, the Sun is a star. It's a ball of gas held together by gravity (a force that pulls the gases towards the Sun's core). The Sun is currently in the phase of its life called the main sequence. That means that for the past 4.6 billion years, the Sun has been fusing hydrogen in its core to produce helium. This process causes a star to increase in temperature and brightness.

In about 5 billion more years, when the Sun runs out of hydrogen to fuse in its core, it will enter the next phase in its life. It will get even larger and brighter than it already is, and our solar system will have a very different star at its center.

Intrigued? It's strange to think that the Sun, the most important part of our solar system, is only one of 200 billion stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way. Think about all those other stars out there! Could they be providing heat and light to distant life forms like us?

I'm still out stargazing every day, and I have seen some beautiful sights. I saw Venus the other night, and of course, the Big Dipper. It's been great running into all of you this month. Keep collecting puzzle pieces and stay tuned for some exciting news next week!

One of my favorite snacks takes five minutes to make and is very refreshing. All you have to do is grab an apple and some peanut butter. Get help cutting the apple in half and then into six large wedges. Remove the core from each piece and spread a spoonful or two of peanut butter in the space where the core was. Then take a bite! It may sound weird, but the combination of crisp, juicy apple and sweet and salty peanut butter is just divine!

If you like the summer recipes from the past two weeks, check out the new book at Bookends Bookshop for more simple, delicious snacks.