Many astronomy books refer to our star 'the Sun' as ordinary - it could not be farther from the truth - why, read on.

Well, as you will already appreciate every living thing is dependent on our Sun, from single-celled bacteria to enormous whales and of course you and me.
It is said that about only half a billionth of the sun’s energy reaches our planet, so just a tiny amount reaches us.
Even the very small amount of energy that we receive, if it could be harnessed effectively, it would more than amply provide for ALL our energy needs with much to spare.

So, is the Sun really a commonplace celestial object?
Well, Guillermo Gonzalez, an astronomer at the University of Washington in Seattle thinks not. He says “There are fewer stars suitable for intelligent life than people realise.” He also adds: “Unless astronomers narrow down their search to stars as exceptional as the Sun, they are wasting much of their time.” WHY?
Well there are some very interesting factors about our Sun that you may not have realised.

 

1. A Single Star.
It is estimated that approximately 85% of the stars in our neighbourhood are in groups of two or more where some rotate around each other. These are bound together by gravitational forces. But our Sun is a single star, writes astronomer Kenneth J. H. Phillips in his book 'Guide to the Sun'. “The case of the sun as a single star seems, then, to be rather unusual,”. This provides stable conditions for life whereas twin stars would not.


2. Heavy elements
Gonzalez (above) notes that the sun has 50 percent more heavy elements—carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, magnesium, silicon, and iron—than other stars of its age and type. This makes our Sun stand out with other stars in our neighbourhood.
These stars are referred to as 'Population 1' stars,
Heavy elements are required to support life and they make up less than 1% of our universe!
Our earth, though, consists almost entirely of the heavier elements. Why? Because, astronomers say, the earth orbits such an unusual home star—our sun.


3. A Massive Star
Even though often classed as a ’Yellow Dwarf’ according to the 'New Scientist' magazine it is among the most massive of the 10 percent of stars in its neighbourhood.” (click for fig 1 below) Also writes astronomer Kenneth J. H. Phillips in his book 'Guide to the Sun'... “The sun contains 99.87% of the mass of the solar system and as a result gravitationally controls all bodies in the solar system.”

 

​4. Brightness Stability
Our Sun, compared to other similar stars, has considerably less variation of luminosity and is therefore more stable, this is critical for life to be maintained. “Our very presence on the planet,” says science historian Karl Hufbauer, “is evidence that the sun’s luminosity is one of the more stable environmental factors.”


5. Almost Circular Orbit Within The Galaxy.
Yet another reason why our Sun is special is that group it's in called ' Population 1' status. Our Sun has this nearly circular orbit within our galaxy, should this not be the case then it is likely that our Sun would encounter very real dangers such as supernovas (exploding stars) bringing catastrophic results.


6. Tilt Of The Sun's Orbit.
Our Sun has a small tilt to the galactic plane which is especially significant!
At the outer reaches of our Solar System is what is called the 'Oort Cloud' which is essentially a large group of comets.
If the inclination of the Sun were much greater than it's tilt within the galactic plane then this would stir up the Oort cloud and create considerable disturbance for planet Earth. (click for fig 2 below)