Why does the sun look so bright?

The sun seems dazzling because it creates an enormous amount of energy in its middle, where hydrogen joins into helium, and because Earth is near it compared with other stars. That energy travels out as light, reaching us strongly enough to fill daytime and make our eyes protect themselves.

Every second, our star turns a staggering mass of hydrogen into energy, and the sunshine hitting your face left the sun about eight minutes earlier. The same brightness that makes you squint also feeds green leaves, stirs winds, warms seas, and keeps ordinary mornings feeling bright.