2007-09-18 15:59:01 · 6 answers · asked by Ally L 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Thanks for all the answers guys!
This has really helped.
:D
2007-09-20 09:50:09 · update #1
Stars have a life span of millions up to billions of years, depending on the class of star.
It will go dim someday, just not in our lifetimes.
katesolo (answerer #1): Good point! But the number is actually 431 years!
2007-09-18 16:10:45 · answer #1 · answered by Sam84 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Even the shortest-lived stars last for millions of years, so the chances of any of the ones we see burning out is pretty slim. Long before Polaris burns out, precession of Earth's axis will point it away from Polaris, and other stars will have their turns at being Pole Star. In about 12,000 years, Vega will be our pole star, but 14,000 years after that, Polaris will be back over the pole again.
2007-09-18 17:05:27 · answer #2 · answered by injanier 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No reason for it to burn out yet.
Its a main sequence star and they last for 10 billion years or so before they become red giants.
No one has determined its current age, but its likely around the same age as our sun (both are considered Population 1 stars, which are the youngest main sequence stars in our galaxy).
2007-09-18 16:07:48 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Why hasn't the sun? Stars live for BILLIONS of years. The odds of it burning out in our lifetime is slim to none.
2007-09-18 16:06:43 · answer #4 · answered by Mr. Taco 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
it will someday - it might already be burnt out, we just haven't seen all of its light traveling to us yet
2007-09-19 02:44:18 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Maybe it has, but we wouldn't know that until 8 years after it happened...
2007-09-18 16:05:06 · answer #6 · answered by katesolo 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋