Monday, July 23, 2018

Mirror, Mirror...

Ever wonder what our Sun would look like, if you were observing it from outside the Solar System? Well, take a gander at HIP 569498, over in Draco.



This magnitude 8.7 star, at 208 light years away, is the closest analog to the Sun that we know of in the entire sky. Its mass is practically identical to the Sun, the difference being basically a rounding error (1.02  ± .02 solar masses). Its surface temperature is only 17° Centigrade higher that the Sun's (5521° vs 5504°). Its radius is a mere 9,000 km less than the Sun's (687,000 vs 696,000). Most importantly, its lithium content is identical to that of the Sun to within observational parameters. Lithium content is one of the markers that varies most widely from star to star, so an identical measurement is amongst the rarest of the rare. The two stars share many other close similarities as well.

But it is no solar birthmate. HIP 569498 is approximately one billion years younger than the Sun and shares no common orbital parameters (about the galactic center) with the Solar System.

HIP 569498 also apparently possesses no "hot Jupiters", so it is entirely possible that one or more Earthlike worlds exist within the star's habitable zone.

So take a few moments to contemplate this "dot" in the northern skies, and imagine some stargazer on a world 208 light years away looking in our direction. He would be seeing exactly what you are.


By the way, HIP 56948 has two very unofficial names other than its catalog listing. They are Intipa Awachan ("Sun's Twin" in Quechua), and Zilia ("Jealous" in ancient Greek). How unofficial are these monikers? They are the winners of a New York Times readers' poll conducted in 2007, so give them all the respect (that is, very little) that they're due.


HIP 56948

No comments:

Post a Comment