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From:
Kevin
The Sun has been producing solar energy, or heat, since about the same time the Earth was formed 4.6 billion years ago. Solar energy comes from deep within the core of the Sun. There, the temperature is about 27 million degrees Fahrenheit, and the pressure is about 340 billion times the Earth's pressure at sea level. This creates nuclear reactions that release heat energy through convection. Five million tons of energy are released from the Sun's core every second. This is the energy that allows life on earth to exist! Scientists predict the Sun will last another five billion years before it collapses into a white dwarf, a star at the end of its burning stage.