At a Glance: Star Color and Temperature
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The hottest stars we can see appear blue. The coolest stars in the sky are red. Yellow or white stars (like our Sun) are temperatures in between.
Play
Title
Time
Above and Beyond: Star Cluster Omega Centauri
01:19
Above and Beyond: Stars in our Galaxy, the Milky Way
00:45
Above and Beyond: Star Cluster Pismis 24
01:01
Myth vs Reality: Star Life and Death
00:40
Myth vs Reality: Star Types
00:40
Celestial Tour: A Star’s Fight for Life—Star Life Cycles
05:30
At a Glance: Star Color and Temperature
01:02
Insight Into: Sizes of Stars
01:17
Stars
Produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute’s Office of Public Outreach.
All images, illustrations, and videos courtesy of NASA, ESA, and STScI except:
· Taurus constellation drawing from Firmamentum Sobiescianum sive Uranographia by Johannes Hevelius, courtesy of the United States Naval Observatory
· Winter Circle star field image created with Stellarium
· Omega Centauri ground-based image courtesy of F. Lehman (South Florida Dark Sky Observers)
· Photo of night sky at twilight courtesy of ESO/H. H. Heyer
· Milky Way star field photo courtesy of ESO/C. Malin
· Orion Nebula 3D animation courtesy of ESO/M. Kornmesser
· Star formation animation courtesy of NCSA/NASA/A. Kritsuk and M. Norman (UC San Diego) and A. Boley (Univ. of Florida)
· Photo of the Milky Way over the Austrian Alps copyright Babak A. Tafreshi (TWAN)
Written by Vanessa Thomas
Designed by John Godfrey
(SPEECH)
[SOFT ROCK MUSIC]
(DESCRIPTION)
Stars and galaxies above a planet's horizon.
Text, at-a-GLANCE. THE COLORFUL WAYS OF STARS
Colorful stars dot into existence in space.
Text, As you scan the night sky, you can find colors in the stars.
Many stars appear white, but others are blue, yellow, red, or orange.
Circles indicate colored stars.
Text, A star's color depends on its temperature.
A color bar spectrum. The visible light in the center expands. Wavy lines of purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red hang down. The waves are tight in purple and progressively loosen to red. Matching colored stars appear between the lines.
Text, at-a-GLANCE. THE COLORFUL WAY OF STARS. ULTRAVIOLET. INFRARED. VISIBLE LIGHT. The hottest stars we can see appear blue. The coolest stars in the sky are red. Yellow or white stars (like our Sun) are temperatures in between.