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Our Sun is a normal main-sequence G2 star, one of more than 100billion stars in our galaxy. The Sun is by far the largest object in the solar system. It contains more than 99.8% of the total mass of the Solar System (Jupiter contains most of the rest).

Do Research Explore images from three space telescopes to see what's happening on the Sun. Learn how to count sunspots, predict solar storms, or create your own research project.

Short answer: no. If you've read or heard that the star Belelgeuse might explode in a few weeks or a few months - that it will temporarily add a second sun to Earth's sky and somehow also possibly prove the world will end in 2012 (to which we can only say, "huh?") - you might want to find more reliable sources.

Stars are cosmic energy engines that produce heat, light, ultraviolet rays, x-rays, and other forms of radiation. They are composed largely of gas and plasma, a superheated state of matter composed of subatomic particles. Though the most familiar star, our own sun, stands alone, about three of every four stars exist as part of a binary system containing two mutually orbiting stars.