{"id":41448,"date":"2023-02-07T08:33:47","date_gmt":"2023-02-07T08:33:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/?p=115909"},"modified":"2023-02-07T09:33:50","modified_gmt":"2023-02-07T09:33:50","slug":"what-do-stars-look-like-up-close","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/what-do-stars-look-like-up-close\/","title":{"rendered":"What do stars look like up close?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What does a star really look like, and how do astronomers know? <\/p>

By Alastair Gunn\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 07 February 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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The best example of how a star<\/a> looks up close is our own Sun. From space, where the Earth\u2019s atmosphere doesn\u2019t affect the view, the Sun appears as an extremely bright, slightly yellow, disk.<\/p>\n

This can be seen in many images taken in Earth orbit, or from the Moon, for example. This is just how other normal stars would look up close.<\/p>\n

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Coronal mass ejections captured by NASA\u2019s Solar Dynamic Observatory in June 2013. Credit: NASA\/SDO<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Stars emit light over a whole range of wavelengths (or colours).<\/p>\n

The wavelength where the amount of light peaks, which depends on the star\u2019s temperature, determines its apparent colour.<\/p>\n

So, stars cooler than the Sun will appear redder, while those hotter will appear white or even blue.<\/p>\n