Star
An orange giant and the closest giant star to the Sun, host to a confirmed exoplanet.
| Type | Star |
|---|---|
| Distance from Earth | 34 ly |
| Diameter | 12,244,320 km |
| Mass | 3.80 × 10³⁰ kg |
| Temperature | 4,313°C |
| Apparent magnitude | 1.14 |
| 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 12,244,320 km across, Pollux is 8.8 times the diameter of the Sun.
Its mass is 1.9 times the mass of the Sun.
The light reaching us from Pollux tonight left it around 34 years ago.
Its surface sits at 4,586 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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