Let's Talk Stars

Stars are generally classified by their size and temperature.

You've got red dwarfs, which are small and cool, yellow dwarfs, like our sun, massive blue giants, and white dwarfs, which are the dense remains of dead stars.

All right.

Let's talk.

The nearest red dwarf, I believe, is Proxima Centauri in the Alpha Centauri star system, correct?

You're spot on.

Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf and the closest star system to our own, located just over four light years away.

All right.

We'll talk about red dwarfs a little bit later, but let's talk about our star.

Our star is considered what's called a yellow dwarf.

Tell our listeners what the characteristics of a yellow dwarf star is.

Yellow dwarfs, like our sun, are main sequence stars that fuse hydrogen into helium.

They're relatively stable, have a yellowish-white color, and boast average mass and size compared to the rest of the cosmos.

Now, why does our star look yellow when out in space, if you're looking at it, it's not yellow? It's due to Earth's

atmosphere.

The

air

scatters shorter wavelengths of light, like blue and violet, making the sky appear blue.

This scattering leaves longer wavelengths like yellow and red to reach your eyes, giving the sun that yellowish glow from the ground.

Now, does the sun look green in outer space? Am I correct in assuming that? Exactly.

In outer space, the sun appears white as it emits.

Yes, that's right.

I forgot about that.

It does look white now, remember.

Go ahead.