Is our sun unique?

Is our sun fundamentally different from other "sun-like" stars? This question highlights an ongoing controversy about whether our nearest star is unique or, in fact, an "ordinary star." Now, an international collaboration of solar physicists thinks it has an answer. read more

In its formation and composition, there is nothing unique in our Sun as compared to other stars formed in similar fashion. Without doubt, there could be literally billions of other solar systems that exist elsewhere in the Universe so in that context there is nothing spectacularly different about our Sun. read more

From a very distant vantage point somewhere in the depths of the universe, sun is just another junior star crawling on its way to becoming a red giant but it will never reach the heights of stardom and become a blackhole. But to us humans, sun has a very unique feature. It has a crucial role to play in sustaining life. read more

Another factor that makes our solar system unique is the location of the giant outer planets that have almost circular orbits and pose no gravitational threat to the inner terrestrial planets. * Instead, the outer planets fulfill the protective function of absorbing and deflecting dangerous objects. read more