Red dwarf . It is a star small and relatively cool the sequence principal either type spectral K late or M. Such forms most of the stars, and its values of mass and diameter less than one third of those of the sun (for below 0.08 solar masses are called brown dwarfs ) and a surface temperature of less than 3,500 K.
Summary
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- 1 Features
- 2 Location
- 3 Other features
- 4 Sources
Characteristics
Red dwarfs are very low-mass stars, less than 40% of the mass of the Sun. Their internal temperature is relatively low and energy is generated at a slow rate by the nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium through the proton chain. proton. Consequently, these stars emit little light, with a luminosity that in some cases barely reaches 1 / 10,000 of the solar luminosity. Even the largest red dwarf has only 10% the luminosity of the Sun.
Location
It is located away in the 20.5 light-years constellation of Libra , and has a mass of one third of that of the sun. Such red dwarfs are at least 50 times fainter than the sun , and make the stars more common in our Galaxy : among the 100 stars closest to us, 80 belong to this class. Being so numerous in our neighborhood, it is therefore essential to know if such stars also harbor planets. Previous studies were quite unsuccessful: observations of about 200 red dwarfs revealed only 2 of them with planets.
Other features
Red dwarfs are little red stars. These stars among the smallest like white dwarfs , neutron stars and brown dwarfs do not consume nuclear fuel . The mass of red dwarfs is between 0.08 and 0.8 solar masses . A surface temperature between 2500 and 5000 K gives them a red color. Due to their small mass, red dwarfs burn hydrogen slowly and therefore have a very long lifespan, it is estimated between ten and one billion years. They contract and heat slowly until all of their hydrogen is consumed. Red dwarfs are probably the most abundant stars in the universe.