Sun (Sol)

Our star is a single yellow main sequence star with at least 9 planets. The surface temperature is 6000 kelvin, the temperature in the center is 15,6 million kelvin.

Age: 4.6 billion years
Distance: 8 light-minutes
Spectral class: G2
Visual magnitude: -26.8
Luminosity: 1 * Sun
Mass: 1.9884 * 10³⁰ kg
Diameter: 1 392 000 km

Back: List of the nearest stars

To the lower left is a Sun flare.
Photo: Nasa

Source: http://jumk.de/astronomie/near-stars/sun.shtml

About Stars: Orange, Yellow and White Stars

Stars as our Sun. With three quarters solar mass a star shines orange, with three times it is white. The surface temperature varies according to this between 4000 and 10000 kelvin. Our Sun has 6000 kelvin and therefore is yellow.

The life span of such stars ranges from one to several billion years, the bigger the less. Our Sun will live about 10 billion years, 4.6 it has already behind. At the end of their life these stars expand to Red Giants and finally cast away their hull. A White Dwarf is left behind.

Planets in the right distance around these stars would be suitable for life. Meanwhile we are quite good in discovering giant gaseous planets, but there is still a long way to go until we can discover life.

Example: Tau Ceti

Back: About Stars | Continue: Blue Stars

Stellar nursery RCW 38.
Photo: Esa

Source: http://jumk.de/astronomie/about-stars/yellow-white-stars.shtml

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