Our Universe is one big riddle over which many scientists and researchers puzzle over. Since ancient times, interest in the planet Earth and its "neighbors" did not allow tens of thousands of people to sleep peacefully. Today, scientists have moved many steps forward in their research and have answered questions, but only a few. The rest of the cosmos is a big mystery to humanity.
Earth and nearby stars
Planet Earth, as you know, is far from the only one in the Universe and not the largest (small) in size. But it is truly unique for many reasons. Among them: the presence of water and oxygen, which helps us to live, unique soils, trace elements, the ideal distance from the Sun, and much more. Quite often, people want to know about what is happening outside of our planet.
The closest star to Earth is also interesting for fans of the unusual. Since ancient times, that huge ball that is located next to our planet has been called the Sun. As you know, this unique star is different from all the others: it consists of hot plasma, and not a single creature in the Universe can be near it.
Characteristic of the Sun
Scientists have established that it is the Sun that occupies 99.8% of the total mass of the system. In addition, the star is a source of energy, thanks to which everything that we see around us happens. It was not in vain that ancient civilizations worshiped the Sun. They perfectly understood his importance in our lives and idolized him.
An interesting fact is the size of the Sun. Scientists claim that 1300 planets Earth can be placed inside it. In addition, it, like a magnet, attracts the rest of the objects of the system and satellites, as well as cosmic dust, asteroids.
Features of the Sun
It has been established that the closest star to the Earth is the Sun, which is why (and many other reasons) so much time has been devoted to it. As a result of research, scientists have found that it was formed from a cloud of gas and dust about 4.6 billion years ago. It is known that the Sun heats up very slowly, absorbing all the hydrogen that is around. Thus, in a few billion years it will reach a peak point. It is possible that the nearest star to Earth will expand enough to swallow the inner planets, including ours.
No less interesting is the fact that the Sun is white, although all people associate it with red or orange. When studying the solar system, one can see spots on the star's plasma. This is due to strong magnetic fields. It is believed that activity changes over the course of eleven years. When it is minimal, there are practically no spots on the Sun. It is worth noting that the luminary radiates wind andcharged particles that scatter throughout space, affecting nearby planets. If the Earth had no magnetic field, then these elements could destroy us. This invisible barrier has kept us alive for several million years.
The closest star to Earth
Heavenly bodies and phenomena have always attracted people. Many are interested in which star is closest to Earth. Almost all researchers claim that this is the Sun, but there are other assumptions. According to some scientists, the closest star - subgiant HD 140283 - is the very object that researchers have been looking for for so long. The age of the space centenarian is 13.2 billion years.
But still, many are inclined to believe that the Sun is the closest star to the Earth. In fact, within a radius of 5 pc (16, 308 light years) there are many space objects that are close to our planet. In total, 57 star systems are known today.
HD 140283 Feature
So, according to some scientists, HD 140283 is the closest star to Earth. Having studied it in more detail, they found that the cosmic long-liver belongs to a rare type of giant luminaries. This group includes objects whose mass is higher than the main sequence stars, but lower than large ones. The subgiant is currently 186 light-years from Earth. The composition and features of HD 140283 make it possible to attribute it to the second population, that is, to the group thatunites the most ancient stars. Such luminaries are jokingly called objects that appeared in the youth of our Universe.
Unfortunately, the oldest and closest star to Earth is slowly fading, that is, losing its brightness. After examining the luminary in more detail, scientists came to an extraordinary conclusion: the age of the object exceeded the lifetime of the entire universe.
There is such a thing as "Methuselah", which means "biblical long-liver". HD 140283 claims just such a name. But at the moment, the star is competing with another red dwarf, which may be its age or younger brother.
Thus, around our planet there are many nearby stars that illuminate our earth at night, but are in no hurry to reveal the secrets of space to us. The sun is assigned an exceptional role.
