The sun sits at the centre of our solar system, surrounded by a huge magnetic field, radiating energy outwards.
When energy from the sun reaches Earth it powers our climate.
The stark contrast between day and night drives wind currents, that in turn power ocean currents, spreading warm tropical waters to northern seas.
Underwater, warm tropical currents mix with deep, cold ones.
But you'd probably prefer to hear Liam Neeson tell you all this. So crank up the volume and watch this in fullscreen.
View this video on YouTube
The video won first place in the annual International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge, sponsored by the journal Science and the U.S. National Science Foundation.