2006-09-22 05:25:40 · 6 answers · asked by tanu 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
It's actually on the small side of medium, for a normal star (i.e., a star that is still fusing hydrogen into helium in its core, also called a Main Sequence star). It's tiny in comparison to a red giant or a red super giant - stars that used up their supply of hydrogen in the core.
2006-09-22 05:32:08 · answer #1 · answered by kris 6 · 4⤊ 1⤋
Star masses range from about 120 solar masses to 0.08 times the mass of our sun. So the sun is on the small end of the range. Stars of this size are very common, from what we can see, although the most common stars appear to be red dwarfs. These are very small stars. We don't see many of them because they're so dim, but studies of nearby space show that there are more of them than anything else. Stars become increasingly scarce with increasing size, because larger stars have shorter lives.
In terms of diameter, the sun is a dwarf star. This is the term applied to stars still on the main sequence, that is, still fusing hydrogen in their cores. After the hydrogen in a star's core is used up, it swells up and becomes a giant star. This is expected to happen to the sun in a few billion years.
2006-09-22 05:48:24 · answer #2 · answered by injanier 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Comparing it to the other stars in the entire solar system average together, the sun would actualy be quite large. This is almost completely owed to the fact that an estimated 85% of all stars are red dwarfs, stars that range from 0.08 solar masses to 0.54, a little over half the size of the sun. However, I the solar mass range, the sun IS the middle 1.00 solar mass. However, this is probibly since solar masses are comparisons to the size of the sun (Just like an AU is a comparison of the distance between earth and the sun.)
2006-09-22 08:41:12 · answer #3 · answered by iam"A"godofsheep 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Our sun is an average, medium sized star according to the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram chart developed by two astronomers: Ejnar Hertzsprung of Denmark and Henry Norris Russell from the United States (see link).
Our sun is in the mid range on the chart and is used to compare all other stars in not only size but luminosity and temperatures.
2006-09-22 11:10:00 · answer #4 · answered by Krynne 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Stars range in size from black holes with a negative diameter to red giants about 3x the size of the Sun. Sol is a G3 or G4 star. For more, google some of the above terms.
2006-09-22 05:36:11 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Sort of. It is a yellow dwarf with some small variability. The mass that remained after ignition determined its final size at the start. Unless it picks up a great deal more mass, it will end as a white dwarf.
2006-09-22 05:35:21 · answer #6 · answered by S.A.M. Gunner 7212 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋