• Question: ARE THE STARS ALL THE SAME COLOUR OR ARE SOME UNIQUE AND DIFFERENT

    Asked by SHARON ROSE to Heather, Helen, Hugh, Jane, Julian on 11 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Julian Onions

      Julian Onions answered on 11 Nov 2014:


      Stars vary in colour a lot, depending on how big they are, and how old they are.
      Smaller stars burn red, bigger ones burn blue.
      Older stars tend to go redder, younger ones bluer. So they vary quite a bit.
      Some stars are almost pure hydrogen and helium, others have other elements in them, which can also affect their colour.
      Astronomers use the colour of stars to tell them all sorts of details about them. Ultimately a spectrum of a star (spreading out all its colours) tells you the most information, so a lot of telescope time goes into getting spectrums of stars.

    • Photo: Helen Johnson

      Helen Johnson answered on 11 Nov 2014:


      Stars can be many different types and colours, because of their different temperatures and masses (how heavy they are). You can see it even with your eyes, if you look at some stars on a clear night, some are redder and some are bluer. The red ones are colder, and blue are hotter – a bit like the colours you see in a flame on a candle.

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