Is the Sun a Sun-like star?

Is the Sun a Random Star?

The properties of our star may be associated with special prerequisites for life. By comparing our Sun to other stars in our galaxy, we may be able to identify such prerequisites. If our star is typical, stellar conditions appropriate for life, and life itself may be common in the Universe. On the other hand, if the Sun is atypical, conditions appropriate for life may be uncommon. Here we descr...

A Transiting Planet of a Sun-like Star

A planet transits an 11 magnitude, G1V star in the constellation Corona Borealis. We designate the planet XO-1b, and the star, XO-1, also known as GSC 02041-01657. XO-1 lacks a trigonometric distance; we estimate it to be 200±20 pc. Of the ten stars currently known to host extrasolar transiting planets, the star XO-1 is the most similar to the Sun in its physical characteristics: its radius is ...

Our Sun: the Nearest Star

Detection of Planetary Transits Across a Sun-like Star.

We report high-precision, high-cadence photometric measurements of the star HD 209458, which is known from radial velocity measurements to have a planetary-mass companion in a close orbit. We detect two separate transit events at times that are consistent with the radial velocity measurements. In both cases, the detailed shape of the transit curve due to both the limb darkening of the star and ...

Analysis of the Herschel DEBRIS Sun-like star sample

This paper presents a study of circumstellar debris around Sun-like stars using data from the Herschel DEBRIS Key Programme. DEBRIS is an unbiased survey comprising the nearest ∼90 stars of each spectral type A-M. Analysis of the 275 F-K stars shows that excess emission from a debris disc was detected around 47 stars, giving a detection rate of 17.1+2.6 −2.3 per cent, with lower rates for later...