Alrakis
By: Bhoomika Kumar
What is a star?
Stars are huge spheres of hydrogen and helium. They are formed from nebulae and come in many different sizes and temperatures. Then, the stars form into a yellow star. From a yellow star, some stars become red giants and others become super-red giants . The ones that become red giants cool into a white dwarf and finally into a black dwarf. The ones that become super red giants explode into a supernova and form into either a neutron star or a black hole. All stars are parts of constellations. Alrakis is a part of the constellation, Draco.
Size and Distance
Alrakis is a medium sized star like our sun.
Diameter: 1.08 x sun
Alrakis is 88 light years from Earth.
A light year is the distance that a beam of light travels in a vacuum in one year.
Diameter: 1.08 x sun
Alrakis is 88 light years from Earth.
A light year is the distance that a beam of light travels in a vacuum in one year.
Age and Stellar evolution stage
The star Alrakis is found on the main sequence of the Hertzsprung Russell diagram(HR Diagram). This star is around it's early middle stages of evolution. It is a yellow-white,medium star.
Age: It is estimated to be around 2.2 billion years old. Its estimate range is around 2.1-2.4 billion years old.
Age: It is estimated to be around 2.2 billion years old. Its estimate range is around 2.1-2.4 billion years old.
Color/Temperature/Spectral Classification
Alrakis is a yellow white star, similar to our sun. When placed on an HR diagram with all the other estimated information, the temperature is estimated to be around 6300-6500 degrees kelvin. This gives it a spectral classification of "F" on the HR diagram.
Luminosity and Magnitudes
Luminosity is the amount of energy release due to the nuclear fusion in a star.
The visual luminosity of Alrakis is about 3.55 x sun's luminosity.
Magnitudes:
Apparent Magnitude: The brightness of an object as seen from our planet.
The apparent magnitude of Alrakis is +5.8.
Absolute Magnitude: The magnitude of a star at a fixed distance (32.6 light years) in the absence of any interference like, dust or gas.
The absolute magnitude of Alrakis when placed on an HR diagram is about +3 - +4 or about +3.81.
Interesting Facts
- Another name for Alrakis is Mu Draconis.
- Alrakis is a binary star system.
History
Mu Draconis was a star discovered by the Ancient Arabic stargazers back in the B.Cs. They gave it the name Alrakis.
How will it die?
This star, has been living from the 2.2 billion years. Currently, it is a yellow-white star, similar of our sun. By using this information and looking at the HR diagram, Alrakis 's death will be similar to that of our sun. It will become a red giant, white dwarf and finally a black dwarf.
Citations
http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/arrakis.html
http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&docid=7GxQFSdKXMvG-M&tbnid=PmHulZ_-DcxDxM:&ved=0CAcQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.asociacionhubble.org%2Fportal%2Findex.php%2Fforo%2Fviewtopic.php%3Ff%3D63%26t%3D16459%26start%3D50&ei=5j4iVIrjPNWkyAT-3YLgDA&bvm=bv.75775273,d.aWw&psig=AFQjCNETd9cTpwZLMxWM63QnK04Ymrmq9A&ust=1411616859727528
http://books.google.com/books?id=nyfIc8wkJzUC&pg=PA377&lpg=PA377&dq=alrakis+star+data&source=bl&ots=YMcnr2SxqO&sig=32CFqSCj6m0tX2X6II3EJ5CVTxg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Vj4iVNfED9CYyATTq4GgCg&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=alrakis%20star%20data&f=false
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http://books.google.com/books?id=nyfIc8wkJzUC&pg=PA377&lpg=PA377&dq=alrakis+star+data&source=bl&ots=YMcnr2SxqO&sig=32CFqSCj6m0tX2X6II3EJ5CVTxg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Vj4iVNfED9CYyATTq4GgCg&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=alrakis%20star%20data&f=false