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A Journey to the End of Time

The Solar System in 3D, in real time

A simulation of the Solar System driven by real ephemerides. The Sun, the planets, Pluto and the major moons, space probes, the International Space Station, nearby stars and the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way are where they really are at the chosen moment. You can run time from 1700 to 2100, fly from one object to another and look at the sky from anywhere on Earth.

Sirius A

Star

Facts

Distance
8.6 light-years
Spectral class
A1 V
Diameter
1.7 times the Sun
Mass
2.06 times the Sun
Surface temperature
9845 K
Apparent magnitude
−1.46
Orbit with Sirius B
50.1 years

Sirius A is the brightest star in the night sky: a white main-sequence star of spectral class A1 V, about 8.6 light-years from Earth.

It has twice the mass of the Sun and a much hotter surface, about 9600 °C against the 5500 of the solar photosphere. A tiny companion, the white dwarf Sirius B, orbits it in about 50 years, and according to models the pair is between 230 and 250 million years old.

Sources