Many celestial bodies and phenomena are significantly hotter than our Sun, but focusing on stars, there are numerous stars that far surpass our star's immense temperature.
Stars That Dwarf Our Sun in Heat
While our Sun's surface temperature averages around 5,500°C (9,940°F), it is far from the hottest star known. The universe is home to a vast array of stars, many of which burn at temperatures that are astounding in comparison. These hotter stars are typically much more massive and in different stages of their life cycles, leading to more extreme internal conditions and surface temperatures.WR 102: An Extreme Example
Among the hottest known stars, **WR 102** stands out. Located in the *Sagittarius constellation*, this incredible star boasts a surface temperature of over **200,000°C (360,032°F)**. To put this into perspective, WR 102 is more than **36 times hotter** than our own Sun. It is an exceptionally rare type of star known as a Wolf-Rayet star, characterized by their high mass and rapid mass loss.Here's a quick comparison:
| Celestial Body | Approximate Surface Temperature | Relative to the Sun |
|---|---|---|
| Our Sun | 5,500°C (9,940°F) | 1x |
| WR 102 | Over 200,000°C (360,032°F) | Over 36x |
It's not just WR 102 that possesses such extreme heat; there are plenty of other stars across the cosmos that boast considerably higher temperatures than the Sun, particularly those that are more massive or in very early or late stages of their stellar evolution.
[[ Stellar Temperatures ]]
