Is every star a sun?

Our sun outshines everything on Earth, at least during the day. Only at night do the little stars seem to shine. Are those suns too? It's in the eye of the beholder.

Munich – In everyday life we ​​always talk about the sun, which gives us light and warmth. At night, we often admire a celestial body made up of all kinds of stars. They all look identical to most observers, especially those without a telescope. But they are not. And that is precisely why the sun is a star. The question naturally arises: Is every star also a sun? First: There are no generally valid definitions.

The definition of a star is clear – opinions differ when it comes to the Sun.

For the stars However, yes. They are incredibly warm balls of hydrogen gas. Because of the heat inside, they start to glow and shine as a whole. The star gets its energy from the nucleus of the hydrogen atom. Just like the sun. The closest star to Earth is called by humans “the sun” because of its significant effect on Earth. IFL Science He writes.

However, the “deplanetization” of Pluto and the newly created categories of dwarf planets have weakened this supposed consensus. For a while, celestial bodies seem unspectacular and desolate orbiting other planets, but in contrast to “that” moon – Have a significant impact on the Earth – Not very influential, called moons.

This is also supposed to be the case with stars and the term Sun. But not for all. White dwarfs, for example, are “dead.” They only radiate residual heat. They therefore lack the necessary property for classification in the context of “the Sun”—active nuclear fusion inside.

Just being bright is not enough – Venus is not a “morning or evening star”.

Meanwhile, Venus is the third brightest star in our solar system after the Sun and the Moon. The common term “morning” or “evening star” is misleading. Just because Venus shines, it is not a star, it is a planet.

By definition, a star must be able to shine independently. But Venus doesn't, and our neighboring planet, with an average temperature of just over 460 degrees Celsius, is relatively cool rather than hot, according to data from the planet. German Weather Service Shown. For comparison: the coldest stars have surface temperatures of 2,500 degrees Celsius, like planet Earth. European Space Agency Planets can only be seen from Earth when they receive light from stars or when they are illuminated.

outer planets For example, they have a star or brown dwarf other than our sun that they orbit. Basically, their own sun. They wouldn't have existed without it in the first place. So the star is very important to the “life” of the exoplanet. Just as we can't live without our sun. Whether or not sun-like stars deserve the name sun is largely in the eye of the beholder. (Please)