Do you believe this.......

I find that incredibly hard to believe. I would wonder where the poll was taken...maybe amongst young children? While I'm sure there is a very small population who believe that the sun is something other than a star, most people over the primary grades would certainly know.

Hi aasi'-yes I know the Sun is a star as is the Moon a planet...it is fascinting how the Sun shimes so brightly and gives the warmth,the light and the changing of the seasons to the earth also how it sustains life here on our planet...there is a lot to be answered for the Sun, it is a fascinating Star...littleowl

LOL =D I too dunno that the sun is actually a star.. hehe ^_^ All i know is that the sun is something like moon, and that it's the sun that gives moon it's brightness at night.. hehe ^_^ BUt now u mentioned, i realised that the moon actually appears at different positions during the night, and if the sun is one of the star, so where the moon appears, will be depending on which star is shining upon it right?? lol

i bet it would be more shocking if they did the survey here as well, where people don't think such details are important. i would scream "oh my f*** god" if people from anywhere in the world couldn't tell that the sun's ultraviolet rays is harmful to our health and that it's slowly destroying earth's protective layer. these details are far more important and should be a general knowledge. and oh i know that the sun is a star, and that, like any other stars it would explode in time. it's taught in grade school here but i bet only few would remember that. people in a third world country would only remember things such as how to survive in your daily living. they wouldn't even remember algebra, only basic mathematical operations such as addition and subtraction.^_^ are you american? i couldn't tell from your username. it sounds indian to me.

you have given no link to the news item nor have you uploaded a scanned copy of teh newspaper item. I don't know whether to beleive it or not, but I take your word for it. I think it is quite possible. Not everyone in America is well educated. There are a number of people who do not go to college and get a university degree.

I think people should know that Sun is a Star as it is taught to us in science.

I cann't believe such a surprising news! If the news is right, then I may guess that this information may have been omitted from the school text books for the teenagers in America for some decades. This may have resulted in such a high percntage of people being ignorant of this fact, 'Sun is a Star'! Yes, I know that Sun is a Star. This is known to me from my text books about forty ears back, I mean at the time when I was a primary school student. Thanks for this nice and probing topic!

I didn't know the sun was a star. But the again I don't care about science. I guess all the other Americans feel the same way.

I find that so hard to believe that people don't know the sun is a star. That all those stars out there are possible suns to other planets. Why do you think I'm a science and science fiction fan?

Hello, Adihindu! I don't find this result impressive at all. You learn this on the primary school, but you never use this. You don't use to look at the Sun and say: "Hey, that's a star". You are not remembered by others that the Sun is a star, so most people end up forgetting about this information. It happens. People must be using what they know in order to keep it fresh in their mind. I had forgotten that the Sun was a star, but once I read it I remember my science classes a few years ago. And it's not even a decade since I learned it! Respectfully, Munhozmib.

I believe that.

I studied in my young age that sun is a big star which is like a parent for stars and i am not remeber much but i beilieve i could get something more here from your discussion as well. happy mylotting

I think you see most people here know the sun is a star and the figure of 45% in USA not knowing can only be understood if the newspaper gave their source of who they surveyed and the age groups surveyed. you know there is a great saying that could also cover newspaper surveys written about statistics. The are Lies, Damn Lies and then there are statistics. :) keep that in mind next time you read an article no matter how amusing. :) and p.s to one of your other responders here... the Moon i was led to believe is a Moon and not a planet but i'm not a scientist and do not wish to argue the point. :)

It's hard to believe this.Is it for real dude? So far I think we all learn this in our first grade school I think. Guess people there doesn't care about the sun or not many get the right education.lol

Hi adihindu, Thank you for this discussion and really not much surprises me any more. It does seem like a very high number but many people have no interest in such things and never bother to read about it. There are untold numbers of stars out there and most of them probably have planets, if we lived on one of these planets, the star around which we revolved would be our sun. I have always had an interest in astronomy even when I was in high school. Blessings.

I believe the research. Some people still think the earth is flat. I know the sun is a star.

Yup its true that the sun is a star that is nearest to the earth and I guess not only americans but there are some people all over the world still don't know about this.One of my friend actually really don't know that the sun is a star.I knew it when I was still 9 years old because I always ask lots of questions with my mom and my sister and yeah they answer it properly so I know it..:-0 GOd bless and have a nice day..:-0