Tuesday, January 6, 2026

If you were to be able to touch the sun, would it be hard or soft or would you go through it?

 I think it would be best described with touching a fire. In fact a fire is a plasma, just like the sun.

This analogy covers many aspects of “touching the sun”:

  • A fire has no clear boundaries. You might put your arm in it quickly, and the upper arm is more burned than your fingers are. In any case: you never “touch” anything, there is nothing solid or liquid.
  • A fire is very hot. Okay, the surface of the sun is much hotter than any ordinary fire. But you get the drift.
  • A fire is always in motion. That is again much more extreme for the sun than for a big camp fire. The sun is throwing out jets so big that the planet Jupiter could easily drown in it, if it would get close to the surface. Here’s a picture of such a yet with Earth drawn next to it: