What is the smallest star - The smallest star ever recorded is a tiny red dwarf EBLM Jo555-57Ab. With the code name EBLM Jo555-57, it is located 600 light-years away in the Milky Way.
Its size is equal to the size of planet Saturn, and its mass is just enough to meet the conditions required to perform a fusion reaction among the hydrogen nuclei.
Interested in knowing more about the smallest star? Keep reading!
Everything you need to know about the smallest star
The EBLM Jo555-57Ab is considered the smallest star ever, located in the triple star system in our Milky Way galaxy.
It was spotted during a planet-finding experiment supervised by various famous universities in the UK in 2017 while they were looking for new exoplanets. This experiment was named “Wide Angle Search for Planets” (WASP).
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What is the smallest star?
Later on, an international team of astronomers called it the smallest known star in the universe, having a size equal to that of Saturn.
Astronomers believe that for a star, it is necessary to fuse hydrogen nuclei into Helium. Also, it should be at least 80 times more massive than Jupiter or should have around 7.6% or more of the sun’s mass. Below this range, the star is considered a brown dwarf, i.e. “a failed star”.
Therefore, in this discovery, they found that EBLM Jo555-57Ab is almost 85 times more massive than Jupiter as well as it comprises around 8.1% of the mass of the sun.
Additionally, this tiny red dwarf weighs 1.61103E29 kg. Its diameter is around 0.08 solar radii or 60,000 km, which is in close comparison with the equatorial radius of Saturn.
Astronomers also believe that the gravitational pull on the star is 300 times stronger than what we feel on earth.
It is about 600 light years away from the earth and revolves around its primary star once in 7 to 8 days.
Moreover, having a spectral type F8, the smallest known star is yellow to white in color.
The temperature on it ranges somewhere around 6,461±124 K.
People also ask:
Is the sun the smallest star?
No, the sun isn’t the smallest star. There are many stars in the universe that are smaller (red dwarf stars) and even bigger (some other giant and hypergiant stars) than the sun. Therefore, being a yellow dwarf star sun doesn’t fall under this category.
Currently, it is considered an average-sized star. The smallest star weighs almost 0.05 of the sun’s mass, and the biggest stars weigh 300 times the sun’s mass. These stars emit so much energy that they destroy themselves apart.
Is the smallest star bigger than the earth?
Yes, the smallest known star EBLM Jo555-57Ab having comparable masses of 85 Jupiter masses, is considered bigger than our earth. This tiny red dwarf is 600 light years away from us.