Red dwarf facts for kids
A red dwarf is a type of star. These stars are much smaller than our Sun. They are also cooler than most other stars. Red dwarfs use their fuel very slowly. This means they do not shine as brightly as hotter stars.
Red dwarf stars are the most common type of star in our galaxy. Even so, you cannot see them with just your naked eye. This is because they are so small and dim. The closest star to Earth is called Proxima Centauri. The word proxima comes from Latin and means "nearest to." Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf star.
Life and Death of Red Dwarfs
Red dwarfs can live for trillions of years. This is much, much longer than brighter stars like our Sun. A red dwarf "dies" when it runs out of its main fuel, which is the chemical element hydrogen. So far, scientists have not seen any red dwarf stars that have reached this final stage.
Red dwarfs are small stars. They are usually about 0.2 times the mass of our Sun. While this is small for a star, it is still about 60,000 times the mass of Earth! Like all stars, red dwarfs are born in giant clouds of gas and dust called nebulas. At first, they are called protostars. They begin to glow red and produce heat about 100,000 years after they form. This is when they start to create energy through nuclear fusion. These stars burn at temperatures less than 4,000 K.
Even smaller objects, which are not quite stars, are called brown dwarfs.
Images for kids
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This chart shows how long a red dwarf is expected to live based on its mass compared to the Sun.
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Gliese 623 is a pair of red dwarfs. GJ 623a is on the left, and the dimmer GJ 623b is to the right.
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An artist's drawing of AU Mic. This is a young red dwarf star, less than 0.7% the age of our Sun. The dark areas show huge regions like sunspots.
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An artist's idea of a planet with two exomoons. They are orbiting in the habitable zone of a red dwarf.
See also
In Spanish: Enana roja para niños
