We're pretty familiar with our Sun. From these records, we know that the Sun has been more or less as active as it is now for the last 9,000 years. Compared to its peers, the Sun fluctuates in brightness much less, and has much lower sunspot activity, than the average. "The speed at which a star rotates around its own axis is a crucial variable," said Professor Sami Solanki, director at MPS and co-author of the new publication, in a release. Now, I’m going to draw a circle next to it. Currently you have JavaScript disabled. Copyright © 2020 by Daily Geek Report. "For example, it has been proposed that the solar dynamo is in transition to a lower activity regime because of a change in the differential rotation inside the Sun," they wrote in their paper. Please help us to deliver independent citizen news... by clicking the link below and contributing. It studied a patch of sky for four years, allowing astronomers to calculate the rotation rates of tens of thousands of stars in its field of view, recording the faint dips in brightness associated with a sunspot appearing and disappearing from view. Our Sun itself is a huge (or medium sized) star, but is much smaller while compared to many other stars. Our sun is also fairly unique in that it is more suitable for life. What proved most relevant was the rotation period. Visit www.mindrocket.co.uk for more amazing science facts. The concentration of various elements in tree rings, ice cores and the fossil record can be interpreted to understand how the Sun has changed over time. Admittedly, this does not count the results of up to 2,500 other sun-like stars that weren't able to be accurately measured by NASA's Kepler telescope -- results that might indicate our sun isn't the only deadbeat among stars. It studied a patch of sky for four years, allowing astronomers to calculate the rotation rates of tens of thousands of stars in its field of view, recording the faint dips in brightness associated with a sunspot appearing and disappearing from view. Then, they compared the brightness variability of those stars as recorded by Kepler against the brightness variability of the Sun. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Within the whole universe, the sun is quite small compared to the enormous stars that exist beyond our solar system. It is about 1.7 solar radii. I drew the circle in the sand next to our 1mm Sun. For a broader comparison, the team measured the Sun against 2,500 stars with unknown rotation rates – and in this case, the Sun seemed much more normal. After conducting a survey of stars similar to the Sun, scientists have discovered that our star is unusually subdued, at least at this stage of its life. Well, so far we have discovered many, many stars and we have managed to get a fair approximation of their respective sizes. But not all stars have detectable sunspots, and their rotation rates cannot be recorded. The concentration of various elements in tree rings, ice cores and the fossil record can be interpreted to understand how the Sun has changed over time. As the researchers note, it's likely that the Sun would belong to the latter group if studied at a distance by a Kepler-like telescope. We know our Sun varies a little in brightness due to its 11-year cycles. “For example, it has been proposed that the solar dynamo is in transition to a lower activity regime because of a change in the differential rotation inside the Sun,” they wrote in their paper. Red supergiants dwarf the Sun. While playing on the beach and talking about the universe with my 6 year old son (we do this a fair bit), I had an idea of how to show him just how big EY Scuti is compared to our Sun. This results in heightened activity, sunspots, and variable brightness. The largest star that scientists have discovered is called Mu Cephei. Dorset Eye is a free community resource our existence and longevity is dependent upon the goodwill of our readers and supporters. (The Sun's rotation period is 24.5 days.) 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Find out what you are missing. We're pretty familiar with our Sun. The cycle starts at a quiet period, with the solar magnetic field neatly aligned between the poles. Which is 695,700km (432,288 miles). Betelgeuse, which is the ninth brightest star in our sky, is called a red supergiant. "We were very surprised that most of the Sun-like stars are so much more active than the Sun," said astronomer Alexander Shapiro of MPS. Understanding how this activity changes is a powerful tool for predicting the Sun's future. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. EY Scuti comes in at a massive, wait for it, 1708 solar radii. That's Earth itself. Another possibility is that stars can fluctuate between activity levels, and the Sun just hasn't exhibited rowdy behaviour recently. Please Donate no matter how small. The unit of measurement used to denote their size, commonly used by scientists, is the solar radii, which is equal to the radius of our Sun. Like Betelgeuse, it is also a red supergiant. Then, they compared the brightness variability of those stars as recorded by Kepler against the brightness variability of the Sun. Required fields are marked *. It's difficult to know precisely what this means. When you look at it that way, our sun seems positively sloth-like. That suggests it could do so in the future; given that a rambunctious Sun can negatively impact communications, navigation, satellites and even power grids, that's a worrying thought. A new study, published in the journal Science on Thursday by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), reveals our sun is approximately five times weaker than other sun-like stars in the universe. It is conceivable that the Sun has been going through a quiet phase for thousands of years and that we therefore have a distorted picture of our star.".