Star
A yellow giant and the brightest star in Microscopium, long since evolved off the main sequence.
| Type | Star |
|---|---|
| Distance from Earth | 254 ly |
| Diameter | 13,216,500 km |
| Mass | 5.57 × 10³⁰ kg |
| Temperature | 4,954°C |
| Apparent magnitude | 4.68 |
| Redshift | 0 |
| Hemisphere | Southern |
| Discovered | 1756 |
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 13,216,500 km across, Gamma Microscopii is 9.5 times the diameter of the Sun.
Its mass is 2.8 times the mass of the Sun.
The light reaching us from Gamma Microscopii tonight left it around 254 years ago.
Its surface sits at 5,227 K, cooler than the Sun at 5,772 K, which is what sets its colour.
It has been on record since 1756.
Play today's Cosmodle