A graphic illustrating the sun’s magnetic areas above an image obtained by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory on March 12, 2016.(Image credit: NASA/SDO/AIA/LMSAL )ShareShare by:
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The sun is the largest item in the solar system; measuring approximately 865,000 miles (1.4 million kilometers) in diameter, it’s over 100 times larger than the Earth. Although being so vast, our star is frequently referred to as a “dwarf.” So, is the sun actually a dwarf star?
In specialized terms, the sun is a G-type main-sequence star — namely, a G2V star. The “V” signifies that it is a dwarf, Tony Wong, a professor of astronomy at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, informed Live Science.
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“G” is astronomical shorthand for yellow — specifically, stars within a temperature spectrum of approximately 9,260 to 10,340 degrees Fahrenheit (5,125 to 5,725 degrees Celsius), Lucas Guliano, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, reported to Live Science.
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Wong remarked that G2 signifies it’s a bit hotter than a typical G-type star. “They vary from G0 to G9 ordered by decreasing temperature,” he stated. At its exterior, the sun is around 9,980 F (5,525 C), Guliano included.
Labeling the sun yellow is somewhat of an inaccuracy, although the sun’s observable output is greatest in the green wavelengths, Guliano clarified. Nevertheless, the sun radiates all observable hues, therefore “the true hue of sunlight is white,” Wong mentioned.
(On Earth, the sun seems yellow as a consequence of how molecules in the atmosphere can disperse the distinct colors that compose the sun’s white light, according to Stanford University’s Solar Center. This explains why the sky appears blue.)
G-type stars also span from G0 to G9 sequenced by diminishing size, Guliano stated. Wong explained that class G stars “vary in size from somewhere close to 90% the mass of the sun up to around 110% the mass of the sun.”
The sun is what astronomers designate as a main-sequence star, a class that encompasses most stars. Atomic processes within these stars merge hydrogen to form helium, releasing extraordinary quantities of energy. Among the main-sequence stars, the hue is established by the star’s mass.
“The sun is yellow, but less-massive main sequence stars are orange or red, and more massive main sequence stars are blue,” Carles Badenes, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh, told Live Science.
The sun is gradually transforming as it matures. “It has gotten about 10% bigger since it commenced on the main sequence, and it will grow much larger,” Wong conveyed. Even as it expands, though, the sun will still be deemed a dwarf until its concluding stage of life.
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In approximately 5 billion years, the sun will deplete its hydrogen fuel supply and commence enlarging to develop into a red giant, abandoning its dwarf years. “It will engulf the orbit of Venus, and perhaps Earth also,” Badenes stated, “and its surface temperature will become colder, making it red in hue.”
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Charles Q. ChoiSocial Links NavigationLive Science ContributorCharles Q. Choi is a contributing writer for Live Science and Space.com. He covers all areas of human ancestry and astronomy, as well as physics, fauna, and general science topics. Charles possesses a Master of Arts degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia, School of Journalism, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Florida. Charles has journeyed to every continent globally, sipping pungent yak butter tea in Lhasa, snorkeling with sea lions in the Galapagos, and even scaling an iceberg in Antarctica.Show More Comments
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