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First Stars: Temperature, Brightness, and Color

Graphic titled “Temperature and Brightness: First Stars Compared to the Sun” showing that the first stars were much hotter, brighter, and gave off more ultraviolet light than the Sun.

Massive Population III stars could have been as hot as 100,000 kelvins—more than 90,000 degrees hotter than the Sun. The hotter any object is, the more electromagnetic radiation (light) it gives off, and the higher energy the radiation is. Population III stars would have been much brighter than the Sun, giving off mostly high-energy ultraviolet rather than visible light.

  • Release Date
    February 22, 2019
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

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Last Updated
Aug 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

Image Credit

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI