8 truths about the stars you'll love to discover
1. Each visible star in the sky is bigger and brighter than the sun
The least intense among the 50 brightest is Alpha Centauri, yet it is 1.5 times brighter than the Sun.
2. You don't see millions of stars
As good as your vision is, we can only see between 2, 000 and 2, 500 stars - and that still depends on the region of the planet you are on and the brightness of the moon.
3. Stars are black bodies
This means that they absorb 100% of all electromagnetic radiation incident on them.
4. There are no green stars
Stars emit a color spectrum that includes green, but in human vision this color is not isolated. Stars range from red, orange, yellow, white and blue, in ascending order of temperature.
5. The Sun is a "Green" Star
In fact, it is blue-green, as its length from where they are in the transition range of these colors. But as we explained above, there are no green stars. This name derives from its surface temperature, but human eyes see the sun as yellowish white.
6. The Sun is a Dwarf Star
When we say “white dwarf, ” this refers to dead stars. Regarding their size, we can refer to them as dwarfs, giants or supergiants, and these last two stages happen during the star's "old age". Therefore, the sun is a dwarf star.
7. Stars Don't Flash
Contrary to what you have thought all your life, the stars do not flash. The shake happens because of the Earth's atmosphere, which has different layers and can "shuffle" the light radiation of the stars, making them appear to blink.
8. Do you see far
Deneb is one of the farthest visible stars in existence: it is in the Swan constellation 30 quadrillion kilometers from Earth! However, it is necessary to be in the Northern Hemisphere for this. But when we talk about galaxies, you can see Andromeda, which is 24 quintillion kilometers from here!
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