The Sun is not the largest thing in the Milky Way galaxy. Betelgeuse, a red giant star, is 700 times larger and 14,000 times more luminous. As stars age, they get bigger, and the Sun will eventually become a red giant and could encompass the orbits of some planets.
The Sun is the largest object in our solar system. It is almost a perfect sphere composed of hot gases (mostly hydrogen) and located in the center of our solar system. But is the Sun the largest thing in the Milky Way galaxy? At all. Betelgeuse, a red giant, is about 700 times larger and 14,000 times more luminous than our Sun. A red giant is a large star that is in the last stage of its life. Betelgeuse is 600 million miles (about 965 million kilometers) in diameter and emits nearly 7,500 times as much energy as the Sun. As it nears the end of its life, Betelgeuse could go supernova and explode within the next ten thousand to one hundred thousand years. Scientists believe that in about five billion years, our Sun will also become a red giant. As stars age, they get bigger. At 4.5 billion years old, the Sun is currently “middle-aged.” Over time, it will get bigger and eventually use up all of its hydrogen. One theory is that the Sun will eventually become large enough to encompass the orbits of some of the planets in the solar system, possibly including Earth.
Read more about the sun:
The Latin name of the Sun is “sol”. This is why the term “solar” is used when referring to phenomena that concern the Sun.
The Sun, which is classified as a G dwarf star, is actually white. The Sun appears to be yellow due to the Earth’s atmosphere.
It takes about eight minutes for sunlight to reach the Earth. This sunlight drives climate and weather on Earth and supports life through photosynthesis.
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