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Red dwarf star
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Learn about the different types of stars categorized according to their mass and temperature - red dwarfs, red giants, supergiants, white, and brown dwarf stars
Proxima Centauri b
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Ursa major constellation illustration art. (Big Dipper) stars, space, night sky)
Stars: Explosions in Space
1 July 2002: The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite reveals a massive solar eruption more than 30 times the Earth's diameter. The eruption formed when a loop of a magnetic field over the surface of the Sun trapped hot gas.
Brightest Star in the Solar System
Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.
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Red dwarf star: References & Edit History

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

  • Erik Gregersen
    Erik Gregersen is a senior editor at Encyclopaedia Britannica, specializing in the physical sciences and technology. Before joining Britannica in 2007, he worked at the University of Chicago Press on the Astrophysical Journal. Prior to that, he worked at McMaster University on the ODIN radio astronomy satellite project. 

Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors

Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Article title updated for style. Nov 09, 2026
Add new Web site: IOPscience - Astronomical Journal - Speckle Interferometry of Red Dwarf Stars. Apr 30, 2026
Add new Web site: IOPscience - The Astrophysical Journal Letters - Living with a Red Dwarf: The Rotation–Age Relationships of M Dwarfs (PDF). Dec 22, 2025
Add new Web site: UT Austin - The Department of Astronomy - Habitability of Planets Around Red Dwarf Stars (PDF). Jul 03, 2025
Add new Web site: PNAS - A brightness gap exposes the inner lives of red dwarf stars | PNAS. May 05, 2025
Add new Web site: The Planets - Red Dwarf Star: The Coolest, the Smallest, and the last one shining. Mar 19, 2024
Add new Web site: Space.com - Red Dwarfs: The Most Common and Longest-Lived Stars. Oct 12, 2022
Added artist's impression of Proxima Centauri b. Dec 08, 2017
Changed "Such a planet, Gliese 581g, was discovered in 2010" to "Such a planet, Proxima Centauri b, was discovered in 2016 around the nearest star to the Sun, Proxima Centauri." Dec 08, 2017
Media added. Apr 13, 2016
Add new Web site: KidsAstronomy.com - Red Dwarf. Jul 27, 2012
Add new Web site: Swinburne University of Technology - Red Dwarf. Jul 27, 2012
New article added. Feb 24, 2011
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