Matching the sunny spring weather, we celebrate the “Day of the Sun” on Wednesday, May 3.
Since 1978, May 3rd has been orbiting the sun. It’s a working day for all things solar. In line with this, here are ten important and less important facts about the sun.
142 years drive to the sun
The Sun is about 149.6 million km from Earth. If you could travel to the sun by car at 120 km/h, it would take 142 years to reach your destination. Sunlight takes just over 8 minutes to travel the same distance.
legend:
SRF Weather
Drive for our weather
The sun is the engine of the weather. It causes different temperatures on Earth and thus the formation of areas of high and low pressure. Wind, clouds and precipitation all depend directly or indirectly on solar radiation.
The sunniest place in Switzerland
It is no coincidence that Ticino is known as “Switzerland’s Sun Room”. Three of the five sunniest places in Switzerland are located in Ticino. But even the Valais can’t complain about a few hours of sunshine.
|
location |
Sunshine hours per year (1991 to 2020) |
|
1. Cimetta/T.I |
2256 hours |
|
2. Locarno Monti/TI |
2228 AH |
|
3. Customs / VS |
2158 AH |
|
4. Crans-Montagne / VS |
2141 AH |
|
5. Magadino/Cadenazzo/TI |
2122 AH |
Incredibly hot
The core of the Sun is extremely hot at 15 million degrees. The surface is almost cold at about 6,000 degrees.
Incredibly bright
A square kilometer of the sun’s surface shines brighter than a million incandescent bulbs (60 watts).
Incredibly big and heavy
The diameter of the Sun is about 109 times greater than the diameter of the Earth. If the sun were a basketball, the Earth would be the size of a pea. In addition, the Sun is about 333,000 times heavier than the Earth.
legend:
SRF Weather
Incredibly amazing
We’ll have to be patient for the next total solar eclipse in Switzerland. It will not take place until September 3, 2081. In Iceland or in Spain, you can already enjoy the total solar eclipse of 2026.
It glows white, not yellow
Solar radiation includes the entire color spectrum. This means that it glows white. However, on the way through Earth’s atmosphere, not all colors of solar radiation are scattered equally. Blue light is strongly scattered by air molecules in the atmosphere. Without the blue parts, the Sun appears yellow to us.
Germany is a pioneer
When it comes to solar energy, Germany is clearly the leader in Europe. According to statistics from According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the production of all solar energy systems in Germany will be around 66,000 MW in 2022. In Switzerland, the production was “only” a little more than 4,000 MW.
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