ELI5: What keeps the sun so hot and powered? Where is the energy coming from?

The sun is mass of incandescent gas, a gigantic nuclear furnace Where hydrogen is built into helium at a temperature of millions of degrees Yo ho it's hot, the sun is not a place where we could live But here on earth there'd be no life without the light it gives We need its light, we need its heat, we need its energy Without the sun, without a doubt, there'd be no you and me The sun is mass of incandescent gas, a gigantic nuclear furnace Where hydrogen is built into helium at a temperature of millions of degrees The sun is hot It is so hot that everything on it is a gas Iron, copper, aluminum and many others The sun is large If the sun were hollow, a million earths could fit inside And yet the sun is still only a middle-sized star The sun is far away About 93, 000, 000 miles away, and that's why it looks so small And even when it's out of sight, the sun shines night and day The sun gives heat, the sun gives light, the sunlight that we see The sunlight comes from our own sun's atomic energy Scientists have found that the sun is a huge atom-smashing machine The heat and light of the sun come from the nuclear reactions Of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen and helium The sun is mass of incandescent gas, a gigantic nuclear furnace Where hydrogen is built into helium at a temperature of millions of degrees

/r/explainlikeimfive Thread