Sirius vs. Sun

Difference Between Sirius And Sun Sirius Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, with an apparent magnitude of…

Difference Between Sirius And Sun

Sirius

Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, with an apparent magnitude of -1.42. Called the Dog Star because it lies in the constellation Canis Major (the larger of the two dogs of Orion in Greek mythology), Sirius was widely venerated by ancient civilizations. In Egypt, where it was known as the Nile Star or the Star of Isis, it first appeared at dawn during the hottest time of year, and through the Romans this association led to the phrase “dog days.”

Visible throughout the winter months for observers in the Northern Hemisphere, Sirius, a bluish white main-sequence star, has 23 times the luminosity, 2.35 times the mass, and 1.8 times the diameter of the sun. Located at a distance of only 8.7 light-years from the sun, it is the fifth nearest star known. Sirius, Arcturus, and Aldebaran were the first three stars for which a proper motion against the background stars was detected. Many ancient observers reported a reddish color for Sirius, but this may have been due to its being traditionally observed near the horizon, where scintillation and absorption of its light in the earth’s atmosphere may have altered its color.

Sirius has a companion, a faint white dwarf star (apparent magnitude 8.65) discovered by the American telescope maker Alvan Graham Clark in 1862. Its mass is approximately that of the sun, but its luminosity is less than 1/400 of the latter. Known as Sirius B, or the Pup, it revolves around Sirius in just under 50 years.

Sun

Sun, the central controlling body of the solar system. It is by far the largest member of the system, being 740 times more massive than its nine major planets together and 10 times wider than the largest planet, Jupiter.

The sun’s rays supply the earth with heat and light, contribute to the growth of plant life, evaporate water from the ocean and other bodies of water, play a role in the production of winds, and perform many other functions that are vital to the existence of life on earth.

Sun is typically a yellow dwarf located at the edge of galaxy Milky Way. In orbiting the center of the galaxy, it is whirling towards Cygnus, a constellation, at a velocity of about 140 miles (220 km) per second. At the same time it speeds toward a point in the constellation Hercules at 12 miles (20 km) per second, in a transverse motion that is perpendicular to its galactic orbit.

 

 

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