• Question: how close can you get to the sun ?

    Asked by reaganbrien to Ben, Dave, Ed, Sam, Susana on 21 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Sam Horrell

      Sam Horrell answered on 21 Jun 2013:

      Depending how alive you want to be you can get as close as you like. The surface of the sun is about 5500 C and the temperature on mercury during the day is about 400 C so I imagine even before you get to murcury you’re already going to be feeling pretty unpleasent. Depends on how good your space suit is I guess but you won’t be getting too close.

    • Photo: David Briggs

      David Briggs answered on 23 Jun 2013:

      Well – that depends on how much protection you have.

      Even out around earth, in direct sunlight, the temperature on the outside of the international space station can get as high as 120ºC – so hot enough to boil water (if water could exist in space) and hot enough to kill an unprotected human!

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