A red giant is a star that is beginning to reach the end of its life cycle. Stars produce light and radiation by converting hydrogen into helium within the core of the star. At the end of a star's "life" all of the hydrogen will be converted to helium, and the core will begin to contract onto itself and become super hot, while the outer layers of the star will expand. As the star expands, the inner layers will be hot, while the outermost layers and the surface of the star will become cooler, giving the star its red color. Color can indicate how hot a star is, blue white stars being the hottest (and often most massive), while red stars are the coolest.
The sun will become a red giant in about 5 billion years, and as it expands it will consume Mercury and Venus, and will either engulf Earth or make it extremely hot and uninhabitable. It will continue to expand, and a strong solar wind will cause the sun to shed it outer layers, eventually exposing a hot, blue-white core, called a white dwarf. The layers shed by the star will form a nebula, called a planetary nebula (has nothing to do with planets), and could resemble the Ring Nebula which can be found in the constellation Lyra.
Some red-giants that I know of in the sky include Antares in Scorpius(best seen during summer months), Aldebaran in Taurus (visible tonight provided skies are clear!), and Betelgeuse in Orion (visible tonight). If you are lucky enough to get away from those pesky city lights, you will notice that the three stars mentioned above will be reddish in color.
2007-01-04 16:56:25
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answer #1
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answered by Aspasia 5
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Yes, all red giants are red or they'd be called something else. But stars still glow all across the spectrum; being red just means they're brightest in that part of the spectrum. A red giant typically appears just slightly reddish to the naked eye, and often needs a contrasting star nearby to make its color obvious. A good place to look at contrasting star colors is Orion, where the two brightest stars are red Betelgeuse in the upper left and blue Rigel at the lower right corner.
2007-01-04 15:17:25
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answer #2
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answered by injanier 7
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particular stars are the variety you beat the sport! each and each time I see a block with a "?" on it I bounce and hit it each and every so often i'm getting a stupid mushroom or a flower yet then i'm getting those fortunate stars and after that its over. I in basic terms run through those little turtles knocking them out whilst no longer having to bounce on their heads. additionally i'm getting that incredible concern music and shine many colours This answer heavily isn't what you predicted yet its the reality.
2016-11-26 20:10:14
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answer #3
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answered by Anonymous
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Harvest moon in January...who knew, bit its all just an interstadial.
2007-01-04 14:11:49
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answer #4
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answered by D Low 2
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yes they change to the color red.(Or at least that's what you'd see through a very pwerful telescope.)
2007-01-04 14:11:20
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answer #5
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answered by Jackelyn Sparrow 2
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