Evolution of a Sun-Like Star
As a star ages, its spin and the number and sizes of its spots decreases as shown in this animation of a Sun-like star. Star spots are tied to local magnetic fields that have been amplified by the star’s rotation, so the phenomena are connected.
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Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Stars display several observable changes as they age. For example, in Sun-like stars, the rate of rotation slows over millions of years. The number of dark surface features called star spots also decreases.
NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) scans a wide swath of the sky for about a month at a time, looking for variations in the light from stars to spot orbiting planets. Scientists the same TESS data to determine how fast the stars are rotating by looking at regular fluctuations in their light caused when star spots come in and out of view. Because rotation slows with age, astronomers can use TESS to learn more about how stars evolve over time.
This animation shows the rotation rate and spot coverage for a Sun-like star 100 million years old.
Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
This animation shows the rotation rate and spot coverage for a Sun-like star 500 million years old.
Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
This animation shows the rotation rate and spot coverage for a Sun-like star 1 billion years old.
Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. However, individual items should be credited as indicated above.
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Producer
- Scott Wiessinger (eMITS)
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Animator
- Scott Wiessinger (eMITS)
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Science writer
- Jeanette Kazmierczak (University of Maryland College Park)
Missions
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This page was originally published on Tuesday, September 30, 2025.
This page was last updated on Tuesday, September 30, 2025 at 9:55 AM EDT.