Stars · White main-sequence star
Vega
25 light-years · Light crosses it in 11 seconds
- Across
- 3.3 million km
- Vs Earth
- 2.36× Sun
- Mass
- 2.14 Suns
About
Vega was the first star ever photographed and the first to have its spectrum recorded. It spins so fast that it bulges at the equator and is noticeably cooler there than at its poles.
Spins so fast it bulges at the equator; it was our pole star 14,000 years ago.
At a glance
| Distance | 25 light-years |
|---|---|
| Surface | 9,600 K |
| Spin | 236 km/s at the equator |
| Age | 455 million years |
Did you know
- It was the northern pole star around 12,000 BC, and will be again around AD 13,700.
- A disk of dust surrounds it — the first such debris disk ever found, and a sign of planet formation.
- For a century it was the reference point for measuring the brightness of every other star.