* Formation: The Sun formed from a giant cloud of gas and dust called a nebula. This cloud collapsed under its own gravity, and as it did, the material at the center got hotter and denser. Eventually, the pressure and temperature at the core became so high that nuclear fusion started, releasing enormous amounts of energy and creating the Sun.

* Gravity: The Sun's immense mass creates a powerful gravitational pull, attracting even more material from the surrounding nebula. This continued accretion over millions of years led to the Sun's massive size.

Here's a comparison to help visualize the difference:

* Sun's diameter: 1.39 million kilometers (865,000 miles)

* Earth's diameter: 12,742 kilometers (7,926 miles)

The Sun is 109 times the diameter of Earth!

In fact, you could fit about 1.3 million Earths inside the Sun.