Star
An orange giant whose name means 'the solitary one', isolated in a dim region of sky.
| Type | Star |
|---|---|
| Distance from Earth | 180 ly |
| Diameter | 70,265,700 km |
| Mass | 6.03 × 10³⁰ kg |
| Temperature | 3,847°C |
| Apparent magnitude | 2 |
| Redshift | 0 |
| Hemisphere | Southern |
| Discovered | 150 |
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 70,265,700 km across, Alphard is 50 times the diameter of the Sun.
Its mass is 3.0 times the mass of the Sun.
The light reaching us from Alphard tonight left it around 180 years ago.
Its surface sits at 4,120 K, cooler than the Sun at 5,772 K, which is what sets its colour.
It has been on record since the year 150.
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