Why are the stars different colors? When you look up to the sky and see a star or even a shooting star, it may seem like the colors vary or change. If you think so you’re right! Stars really do come in a rainbow of colors, with varying waves of red, white, and blue.
Why are stars different colors?
The reason for the color differences among the shimmering stars in our galaxy is determined by the temperature of the star’s surface.
Temperature differences on the surface of a star help to determine the actual color of the star. Surface temperatures are directly connected to the wavelength of light that is projected from the star. The shorter the wavelength of the light that is emitted by a star, the higher the temperature of the star will be.
Blue or blue-white light-emitting stars, which have shorter wavelengths, are the hottest. Red or red-brown, which have longer wavelengths, is much less hot than blue or white stars. This means that the light with the shortest wavelengths, such as blue or blue-white light, is the most intense. Since red and its sub tones have longer wavelengths than other colors, they appear darker.
The colors may appear to be one solid wavelength emitting from the star, but it’s actually a spectrum combination of light that is being spewed out of the star! The color of the star, like blue or red, comes from the peak of one color even though the star does produce a variety of colors and hues. There is a wide range of hues that emit from stars constantly.
Contents
- 1 What Determines the Color of a Star?
- 2 What Are the Main Colors That a Star Can Be?
- 3 Why Are Stars Not the Same Color?
- 4 Which Color Stars Are the Coldest? Which Color of Stars Is the Hottest?
- 5 Where Does the Kelvin Scale Come From?
- 6 Do Green or Purple Stars Exist?
- 7 Are Stars Actually Star-Shaped?
- 8 Where Does the Star Shape Come From?
- 9 Do Stars Really Twinkle? Why Do Stars Twinkle?
- 10 Summary
- 11 Related Articles
What Determines the Color of a Star?
The hue of light or color that is emitted by a star is determined by the surface temperature of a star.
What Are the Main Colors That a Star Can Be?
The majority of stars are red, orange, yellow, white, and blue in color. The surface temperatures of red stars are around 3,000 degrees Celsius, making them the coldest and most freezing stars in the universe.
The presence of extra gas in a star can be attributed to a rise in the temperature of the star, which corresponds to an increase in the amount of fuel available for combustion.
It begins orange, then turns yellow, and finally becomes white.
Why Are Stars Not the Same Color?
There are two simple explanations as to why all stars are not the same color. The reasons are:
- Temperature
- Age
In the same sense that no two humans are exactly the same, no two stars are exactly the same. These are the two main reasons why each star has a different peak color. Ironically enough, red stars tend to be colder in temperature than blue stars
. The coolest temperature stars are primarily red. Warmer stars tend to be orange, yellow, or white in color.
The brightest and hottest stars are blue. Age is another important factor to consider when it comes to the color of a star. As stars become older the chemicals within the star burn at different temperatures which can cause color changes among the star.
Which Color Stars Are the Coldest? Which Color of Stars Is the Hottest?
You may associate the color blue with colder temperatures, but when it comes to stars red-colored stars are actually the coolest in temperature! The hottest colored stars are always blue and they range from 9726.85°C – 49726.85° Celsius or 17540.33° – 89540.33° Fahrenheit.
Hottest vs. Coldest Colored Stars
In order from hottest to coldest, here are the temperatures of each color of the star. From blue to red and everything in between the answers in F° and C° is below.
Blue stars are the most blazingly hot of all the stars. Yellow and orange are in the middle range as far as temps. Red stars or darker brown/red colored stars are always the coldest.
Star temperatures are commonly discussed using the Kelvin scale temp measurement in astrophysics or astronomy, but I’ve converted these K temperatures for those of us who are not so familiar with that scale type! An explanation of the Kelvin system is below.
Star System Color & Temperature Chart
The Kelvin Scale
When it comes to measuring temperature, the Kelvin scale and the Celsius scale are comparable to one another. According to the Celsius scale, the temperature at which water freezes is 0 degrees. However, the zero point on the Kelvin scale is defined as the temperature that is the coldest that can possibly be imagined. This temperature is frequently referred to as “absolute zero.” –273.15° C (–459.67° F) is absolute zero.
So, as an example: a yellow star is around 5000 K. This is roughly 4726°C/8538°F. A yellow star produces similar temps to the surface level of the sun! (Note: Internal sun temps can reach 27 million degrees F!) The formula for the Kelvin scale to Celsius is 5000 K − 273.15° = 4726.85° C
Where Does the Kelvin Scale Come From?
The kelvin, denoted by the symbol “K,” is the basic unit of temperature for the SI system. It was named after William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, an engineer and physicist who was born in Belfast and worked at the University of Glasgow.
Since the Kelvin scale is an absolute thermodynamic temperature scale, its starting point, which corresponds to absolute zero, is called the zero point.
To recap, the hottest stars are blue, with surface temperatures up to 50,000 degrees Kelvin. Nuclear fusion activities at the core of stars provide energy. The temperatures are the coldest in the red stars. The temperature of yellow stars is higher than red stars.
Where Does the Kelvin Scale Come From?
The masses of blue stars are at least three times greater than that of the Sun. To human eyes, a star that is either 10 times or 150 times as massive as the Sun will appear blue in color. A good example of a blue star is Rigel, which are the brightest star in the constellation Orion and the sixth brightest star in the sky over all. This indicates that blue stars make up the vast bulk of those that we see in constellations.
Do Green or Purple Stars Exist?
The light that comes from stars has a diverse range of wavelengths or colors. Even if they emit light at a variety of lengths, the color that we perceive is determined by the location of the light source that is most intense. This is where the term “peak color” comes from.
Because a star’s “black-body spectrum,” which is the amount of light at each wavelength and varies with temperature, does not produce the same range of colors as, for example, a rainbow, there are no green stars.
A star that is brightest at a wavelength that we may call “green” emits about the same amount of red light, which our eyes see as white rather than green because white is closer to the color green. In order for a star to appear green to us, it would have to emit entirely green light; however, this is physically impossible.
Are Stars Actually Star-Shaped?
In reality, stars do not have the shape of stars. They have the same spherical shape as the sun that is in our atmosphere. Because the vast majority of stars are located at such a great distance from Earth, their brightness cannot compare to that of the sun to our human eye – even if the stars themselves are larger or brighter than our sun.
Where Does the Star Shape Come From?
Fun fact: The star shape actually originated in ancient times and was depicted in Ancient Egyptian and Sumerian art. The star symbol may also have been a symbol of the ancient goddess Ishtar. While ancient art pottery or sculptures may have featured this symbol that cultures of the past thought resembled a glistening star in the sky – it is only a twinkle compared to the actual shape of stars.
There are a number of other stars in the universe that are both bigger and hotter than the sun. The atmosphere of Earth is what a starlight must pass through in order to reach us so that we can see it. The air around us is always shifting and moving. The starlight is warped and dispersed by the atmosphere. As a consequence of this, the star gives off the impression of glistening or twinkling.
Do Stars Really Twinkle? Why Do Stars Twinkle?
Before it reaches our eyes, light coming from a star must travel through our atmosphere, where it will reflect off of many layers and become distorted along the way. Because the warm and the cold layers of air are constantly shifting, the way light bends around them also changes constantly. Because of this, the star will begin to shake or twinkle.
Summary
- The reason for the color differences among the shimmering stars in our galaxy is determined by the temperature of a star’s surface.
- Surface temperatures are directly connected to the wavelength of light that is projected from the star.
- The shorter the wavelength of the light that is emitted by a star, the higher the temperature of the star will be.
- The majority of stars are red, orange, yellow, white, and blue in color.
- Blue stars are the most blazingly hot of all the stars.
- Stars are not actually star-shaped.