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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 B

Star

Facts

Spectral class
DA (white dwarf)
Mass
1.02 times the Sun
Surface temperature
25,193 K
Surface gravity
400,000 times Earth's
Apparent magnitude
8.44
Discovery
Alvan Clark, 1862

Sirius B is a white dwarf of spectral class DA, with a hydrogen atmosphere: the dead core of a star that, according to models, became a white dwarf about 126 million years ago. It packs about the mass of the Sun into a diameter 90% of Earth's, and its surface is still at about 25,000 °C.

Sirius A, beside it, is about 9000 times brighter, which is why Sirius B is hard to see. Alvan Clark discovered it in 1862 while testing one of the finest telescopes of his day.

Sources