The sun in creation was warmer than we thought

2001/09/18 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Astronomia

We know that the Sun, with only one million years of age, was brighter than today. That is not new. But based on the results of the latest research, a group of scientists ensures that the young Sun was warmer and brighter than they thought. This result can cause major changes in astronomy, as it can change the way scientists date young stars.

At that time, the Sun was a protostar and it was still about to begin the nuclear fusion of the hydrogen that the stars have. However, the German researcher Günther Wuchterl, of the Max Planck Institute of Extraterrestrial Physics, and his colleagues have been able to verify that the contraction of gas during the formation of the star would have transmitted more energy than the fusion that is occurring in the Sun. No wonder, therefore, that protostar emits brighter rays than the current Sun.

Astronomers deduct the age and mass of young stars from their surface temperature and brightness data, recognizing that young protostars weaken over time. According to the current evolution models, the young Sun would only have twice as much light as the current one. But new computer simulations by Wuchterl indicate that the protosol was four times brighter than the current one and that its surface was 500 degrees hotter. Therefore, if the protostars are brighter than the existing models advertise, the researcher has stated that their age may be greater than previously thought.