Hubble image archive
A Comparison of Star Sizes
This illustration compares the different masses of stars. The lightest-weight stars are red dwarfs. They can be as small as one-twelfth the mass of our Sun. The heaviest-weight stars are blue-white super giants. They may get as large as 150 solar masses. Our Sun is between the li...
- Date
- Jan 1, 2005
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- hubblesite-images-2005-05-1651-image
This illustration compares the different masses of stars. The lightest-weight stars are red dwarfs. They can be as small as one-twelfth the mass of our Sun. The heaviest-weight stars are blue-white super giants. They may get as large as 150 solar masses. Our Sun is between the lightweight and heavyweight stars. The red giant star at the bottom of the graphic is much larger than the other stars in the illustration. Its mass, however, can range from a fraction of the Sun's mass to a few solar masses. A red giant is a bloated star near the end of its life. In this brief phase, a star's diameter expands to several times its normal girth.
Credits
NASA, ESA and A. Feild (STScI)More Images From This Period
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Source
Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.
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