red giant

noun

Definition of red giant

: a star that has low surface temperature and a diameter that is large relative to the sun

Examples of red giant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Instead, her team looked toward old, swollen stars called red giants. Joshua Sokol, Science | AAAS, "Debate intensifies over speed of expanding universe," 19 July 2019 But the latest study is relying on a different kind of stars called red giants. Ashley Strickland, CNN, "Red giant stars create new way to measure how quickly the universe is expanding," 16 July 2019 Your voices may still speak for us when our sun has become a red giant and all terrestrial remnants of our existence have been reduced to ash. Ann Druyan, National Geographic, "Dear Voyagers: How your billion-year journey carries true love," 10 July 2019 Antares, a red giant star just to the lower right of Jupiter, is the brightest star in Scorpius and marks the heart of the beast. Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, "Sky Watch: There are many delights to be found in August’s evening skies," 4 Aug. 2019 The red giant star is 35,000 light-years from Earth, in the Milky Way's halo. Ashley Strickland, CNN, "Ancient star discovery sheds light on Big Bang mystery," 1 Aug. 2019 Death: In 5 billion years or so, the sun will run out of its hydrogen fuel and expand into a type of star called a red giant, likely consuming Earth along the way. Stephen Ornes, Discover Magazine, "Our Sun, the Still-mysterious Star That Gives Us Life," 12 June 2019 The red giant phase is actually a prelude to a star shedding its outer layers and becoming a small, dense body called a white dwarf. Catherine Zuckerman, National Geographic, "Everything you wanted to know about stars," 20 Mar. 2019 Meanwhile, Aldebaran is a red giant star many times larger than our sun that is located 65 light-years distant. Andrew Fazekas, National Geographic, "Spring meteor shower, and more top star-gazing events in April," 1 Apr. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'red giant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of red giant

1929, in the meaning defined above

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More Definitions for red giant

red giant

noun

English Language Learners Definition of red giant

astronomy : a very large star that has a reddish color