Table of Contents

Evolution of Stars
30 Bright Stars
30 Nearest Stars
Questions

Intro to Astronomy
Misconceptions

Archaeoastronomy
Equitorial Coordinates
Understanding the Seasons

Time & Its Measurement

Telescopes  

Solar & Lunar Eclipses

The Solar System

The Earth

The Moon

Mecury, Venus, Mars

The Outer Planets

Solar System Debris

The Sun

Intersteller Matter

Sky Literacy






Approximate Characteristics of Several Types of Main Sequence Stars

Class
Mass Compared to Sun
Contraction to Zero Age Main Sequence
Surface Temp (°K)
Luminosity compared to Sun
Years on Main Sequence
Radius in Suns
O6 (mid)
25
10 Th
35,000
80,000
3 M
8
O9 (late)
15
100 Th
28,000
15,000
15 M
6
B2 (early)
9
400 Th
18,000
2,200
40 M
4
B5 (mid)
5
1 M
13,000
325
175 M
3
A0 (early)
3
4 M
10, 000
50
500 M
2.5
A7 (late)
2
10 M
8,000
10
2 B
2
F2 (early)
1.5
15 M
7,000
4
3 B
1.5
G2 (early)
1
20 M
6,000
1
10 B
1
K7 (late)
0.5
40 M
4,000
0.08
55 B
0.6
M8 (late)
0.08
100 M
2,600
0.0003
2.5 Tr
0.1

Temperature - SP Class - Color Index Relationships for Main Sequence Stars

Temp (°K)
50,000
25,000
10,000
7,500
6,000
4,800
3,700
SP Class
O5
B0
A0
F0
G0
K0
M0
Co Index (UBV)  
-0.2
0.0
 
+0.6
 
+1.5

 

  1. Luminosity is proportional to Mass ^ (7 / 2)
  2. Time on the main sequence = Mass ^ (2 / 5)
  3. Radius = 1 / Temp² x Luminosity
  4. Stefan-Boltzmann Law: Enegry per unit area = s * Temp ^ 4
    s = Stefan-Boltzmann constant = 5.67 x 10 ^ -5 erg cm ^ -2 K ^ -4 sec ^ -1
  5. Wien's law: Dominant wavelength of light being emitted by a star = 0.29 / Temp
  6. Planck's constant, h = 6.625 x 10 ^ -27 erg sec. Energy = h * Frequency
  7. Supernova candidates: Stars with masses greater than eight solar masses.
  8. Apparent Magnitude (m): Measurement of a body's brightness as seen from earth.
  9. Absolute Magnitude (M): Apparent magnitude of an object as seen from a standard distance of 10 parsecs (32.6 light years).
  10. Apparent Bolometrice Magnitude (m bol): Measures the total radiation received from the body outside the earth's atmosphere.