Alpha’s Big Adventure!

By: Lucy N, North H, and

Devyn F
Once upon a time there was a very old star named Alpha. He lived in the
Milky Way! Alpha is much older than all of us and will outlive us. Alpha is
about 6 billion years old, so he is also very mature!
Alpha’s best friend is Earth. A long time ago, Earth and Alpha used to live
close together, but as the universe expanded over time, Earth and Alpha
grew apart. Earth wanted to go visit Alpha, but realized it would take him
100 years in order to see him or 4.2 light years. Earth and Alpha were very
sad.
If Earth wants to see Alpha all he has to do is look to the constellation Centaurus in
early May in the south horizon. If Earth can’t find him, he just has to look for the 3rd
brightest star and Alpha will be revealed. Alpha is so bright that at night that Earth can
see him. Alpha has a luminosity of 0.5002, so he is very luminous. Alpha is also very
hot. He’s about 5,260 Kelvin. Making him just a bit cooler than the sun.
Earth and Alpha have a lot in common! For starters, they both live in the Milky
Way. Earth recently found out that Alpha is a terrestrial planet, and could possibly
house terrestrial beings. Earth could now visit Alpha! This is Alpha’s claim to fame.
Since Alpha was a baby star, also known as a protostar, he went through stages.
Alpha’s current stage in life is Main Sequence. This is the longest stage that Alpha
will be in. In the Main sequence, Alpha is burning energy like when we run, but a lot
more energy. The atoms in the star are constant there is no overwhelming force
both fusion and gravitational force are equal and balanced in harmony. After this
long stage, Alpha will become a red giant. Alpha will then end his days in the White
Dwarf stage.