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Which star is further along in its life cycle- Antares (a red supergiant) OR the sun? How do you know?

2006-11-29 14:02:25 · 4 answers · asked by fanta chic 2 in Science & Mathematics Astronomy & Space

4 answers

How astronomers come up with the timetable I don't know. It isn't as if we can watch the lifecycle of a single star, to see if we are right!

But..

Our sun (Sol) is considered a young star. Antares, a red supergiant, has burned up most of its original fuel, and has started converting energy in a different way, hence it's larger size and changed color. Technically, Antares is "older" than Sol.

Of course, if you ask it, it may tell you it isn't a day over 29...

2006-11-29 14:12:35 · answer #1 · answered by MamaBear 6 · 1 0

Antares should be. If it is in its helium burning phase, then it is at the stage where the sun would be in 4 or 5 billin years (the sun is only halfway through its hydrogen burning life).
But even if it was not, given that Antares mass is 15 to 18 times that of our sun, its life is proportionally shorter; the heavier the mass the shorter the life. With 18 times the mass, the star is 60000 times brighter than our sun, so it burn its mass proportionally 3000 times faster, so the hydrogen burning phase of a sun like star -- about 9 billion years -- a star that much brighter would consume the same proportion of hydrogen in just 3 mllion years.
Whn it blows up, and it will, it may turn night into day for a few hours. See link for more details.

2006-11-29 14:16:16 · answer #2 · answered by Vincent G 7 · 1 0

Antares. Since Antares is nearing the end of its life and has already used up its hydrogen, it has swelled to an enormous size because it is forced to burn other elements. These elements burn at a higher temperature and give off more energy, thus inflating the size of Antares to gigantic proportions. The sun will swell to a red giant one day, but it will never reach the size of Antares. The sun is still in the main sequence and is only about halfway through its life.

2006-11-29 14:09:00 · answer #3 · answered by The Wired 4 · 1 0

A red super- giant is older than our yellowish-orange sun.

2006-11-29 14:06:36 · answer #4 · answered by familyguy007 2 · 1 0

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