The Sun is classified as which type of star?

• A. Red Giant
• B. White Dwarf
• C. Yellow Main Sequence
• D. Neutron Star

Answer: (C)

Stars are categorized by their surface temperature and by where they are in their life cycle, which sets their color and spectral type. The Sun is a G-type star that sits on the main sequence, meaning it’s in a stable phase where hydrogen is fusing in its core and it hasn’t yet evolved into a giant or a stellar remnant. Its surface temperature is about 5,500–6,000 kelvin, giving a yellowish-white appearance, so it’s commonly described as a yellow main-sequence star. It isn’t a red giant, which would be a larger, cooler star that has left the main sequence; it isn’t a white dwarf, which would be the hot, dense core remaining after a star sheds its outer layers; and it isn’t a neutron star, a tiny, incredibly dense remnant from the collapse of a massive star.