What are the main differences between the sun and other stars?
The main differences huh? I guess the most important difference between our Sun and other stars is that the Sun is closer to Earth than any other star. Without this key difference you wouldn't be able to even ask the question, because we can't live without the Sun's energy! Stars can also have different weights, sizes, temperatures, and ages.
The Sun is a pretty small star. Only a few stars are bigger than it. The biggest star, Mu Cephei is so big you could fit over one billion of our Suns inside of it! Most stars are smaller than the Sun. The smallest stars are even smaller than planets like Jupiter and Saturn (but much heavier).
The temperature of a star can be figured out by what color it is. Stars which are cooler than our Sun are red and orange. Stars hotter than ours are white, or blue-white. Our Sun is a middle-aged star (about five billion years old). As stars get older they can change in many ways, growing bigger and colder.
Submitted by Sarah Jo (Sydney, Australia)
(7/9/99)
Windows original artwork
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