In terms of luminosity compared to its stellar peers, how does our Sun generally rank?
Answer
It shines brighter than roughly 85% of its stellar neighbors.
Despite its appearance due to proximity, the Sun is actually an average star in terms of its stellar class, but it is above average when looking specifically at luminosity compared to the general population of stars in the Milky Way. When surveying a random star in the galaxy, the data indicates that the Sun outshines approximately 85% of its stellar neighbors. This means that the vast majority of stars in the Milky Way are actually smaller, cooler, and less luminous than our own Sun. While this places it above average in brightness, it prevents it from being classified as a true giant star, which are much more intrinsically luminous.
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