Children of the Stars

TL;DR

This paper discusses the Sun's role as Earth's primary energy source, its consistent luminosity over billions of years, and recent advancements in understanding stellar energy mechanisms.

Contribution

It provides an overview of the Sun's energy output, its long-term stability, and recent progress in understanding stellar energy processes.

Findings

The Sun's luminosity is approximately 3.828e26 Watts.

Earth receives only a tiny fraction of the Sun's energy.

Astronomers have made significant progress in understanding stellar energy mechanisms.

Abstract

Even if it tends to hide more often in the current autumnal season, our host star, the Sun, is the principal source of energy on our planet. It has a luminosity of 3.828e26 Watts, and despite that we receive only 2 parts per billion of this, it allows for the Earth's life to thrive. Moreover, we know that the Sun has been shining in the same way for about 4.6 billion years (the age of the Earth) and will likely still do the same for another 5 billion years or so. The Sun's power engine, as well as the one of all the stars we see in the night sky, has for long been a mystery, but astronomers now have a good understanding of it.