Star Definition & Detailed Explanation Astronomical Objects Glossary

The B-class star Achernar, for example, has an equatorial rotation velocity of about 225 km/s or greater, giving it an equatorial diameter that is more than 50 percent larger than the distance between the poles. This rate of rotation is just below the critical velocity of 300 km/s where the star would break apart. By contrast, the Sun only rotates once every 25 – 35 days, with an equatorial velocity of 1.994 km/s. The star's magnetic field and the stellar wind serve to slow down a main sequence star's rate of rotation by a significant amount as it evolves on the main sequence. The magnetic field can act upon a star's stellar wind, however, functioning as a brake to gradually slow the rate of rotation as the star grows older. The activity levels of slowly rotating stars tend to vary in a cyclical manner and can shut down altogether for periods.

Surface patches with a lower temperature and luminosity than average are known as starspots. Larger, Canadian casino traffic sources 2026 giant stars have much bigger, much more obvious starspots, online casino payment speed Australia 2026 and they also exhibit strong stellar limb darkening. Red dwarf flare stars such as UV Ceti may also possess prominent starspot features. The energy produced by stars, as a by-product of nuclear fusion, radiates into space as both electromagnetic radiation and particle radiation. Smaller stars such as the Sun have surface temperatures of a few thousand degrees. Red giants have relatively low surface temperatures of about 3,600 K, but they also have a RSM Club high payout luminosity due to their large exterior surface area. The stellar temperature will determine the rate of energization or Cosmopolitan casino sustainability initiatives ionization of different elements, resulting in characteristic absorption lines in the spectrum.

Therefore, future generations of stars are made of the "star stuff" from past stars. As atomic nuclei are fused in the core, they emit energy in the form of gamma rays. These photons interact with the surrounding plasma, Android casino adding to the thermal energy at the core.

From centuries of scientific observations and theoretical physics, we can say more. They’re held together by their own gravity, and they consist of plasma (gas heated so much that electrons are stripped from its constituent atoms). In a very broad sense, a star is simply one of those twinkling points of light you can see in the night sky. But that’s not terribly satisfying in either lexicological or physical terms. After all, we also know the sun is a star—but, by definition, we never see it in Earth’s night sky, and it’s certainly not a dot (unless you’re viewing it from well past Pluto, online casino Australia live dealer provider that is).

Above this is the transition region, where the temperature rapidly increases within a distance of only 100 km (62 mi). Beyond this is the corona, a volume of super-heated plasma that can extend outward to several million kilometres. Despite its high temperature, the corona emits very little light, due to its low gas density. The photosphere is that portion of a star that is visible to an observer. From here, the energy generated at the core becomes free to propagate into space. It is within the photosphere that sun spots, regions of lower than average temperature, appear. The radiation zone is the region of the stellar interior where the flux of energy outward is dependent on radiative heat transfer, since convective heat transfer is inefficient in that zone.