Star
Spins so rapidly that it is flattened into an oblate shape, completing a full rotation in under 9 hours.
| Type | Star |
|---|---|
| Distance from Earth | 16.7 ly |
| Diameter | 2,365,000 km |
| Mass | 3.70 × 10³⁰ kg |
| Temperature | 7,397°C |
| Rotation period | 8.9 hours |
| Apparent magnitude | 0.76 |
| Redshift | 0 |
| Hemisphere | Northern |
| 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 2,365,000 km across, Altair is 1.7 times the diameter of the Sun.
Its mass is 1.9 times the mass of the Sun.
The light reaching us from Altair tonight left it around 17 years ago.
Its surface sits at 7,670 K, hotter than the Sun at 5,772 K, which is what sets its colour.
It has been on record since the year 150.
Play today's Cosmodle