Star
The current North Star, closely aligned with Earth's axis of rotation, making it appear nearly fixed in the sky.
| Type | Star |
|---|---|
| Distance from Earth | 433 ly |
| Diameter | 52,200,000 km |
| Mass | 1.07 × 10³¹ kg |
| Temperature | 5,742°C |
| Rotation period | 2,280 hours |
| Apparent magnitude | 1.98 |
| 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 52,200,000 km across, Polaris is 37 times the diameter of the Sun.
Its mass is 5.4 times the mass of the Sun.
The light reaching us from Polaris tonight left it around 433 years ago.
Its surface sits at 6,015 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