Star
One of the least spherical stars known, flattened by extremely fast rotation into a shape wider at its equator than its poles.
| Type | Star |
|---|---|
| Distance from Earth | 139 ly |
| Diameter | 11,130,000 km |
| Mass | 1.33 × 10³¹ kg |
| Temperature | 13,727°C |
| Apparent magnitude | 0.46 |
| Redshift | 0 |
| Hemisphere | Southern |
| Discovered | 1603 |
Stars spend most of their lives fusing hydrogen into helium in their core, and it's the balance between that outward pressure and gravity pulling inward that fixes how big and how bright a star gets.
At 11,130,000 km across, Achernar is 8.0 times the diameter of the Sun.
Its mass is 6.7 times the mass of the Sun.
The light reaching us from Achernar tonight left it around 139 years ago.
Its surface sits at 14,000 K, hotter than the Sun at 5,772 K, which is what sets its colour.
It has been on record since 1603.
Play today's Cosmodle