21st Century Astronomy
6th Edition
ISBN: 9780393428063
Author: Kay
Publisher: NORTON
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Chapter 16, Problem 23QP
To determine
The explanation about the similarity in the paths that a star follows along H-R diagram as it forms from a protostar and as it leaves the main sequence to climb the red giant branch.
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In the H-R diagram we see that stellar masses__________ downward along the main sequence. At the upper end of the main sequence, the hot, luminous O stars can have masses as high as _________ or more times that of the Sun. On the lower end, cool, dim M stars may have as little as __________ times the mass of the Sun. Many more stars fall on the lower end of the main sequence than on the upper end, which tells us that _________stars are much more common than __________ stars.
A star with spectral type A0 has a surface temperature of 9600 K and a radius of 2.2 RSun. How many times more luminous is this star than the Sun? (if it is less luminous enter a number less than one)
This star has a mass of 3.3 MSun. Using the simple approximation that we made in class, what is the main sequence lifetime of this star? You may assume that the lifetime of the sun is 1010 yr.
Compare this to the lifetime of a A0 star listed in Table 22.1 (computed using a more sophisticated approach). Is the value you calculated in the previous problem longer or shorter than what is reported in the table? (L for longer, S for shorter) (You only get one try at this problem.)
For a main sequence star with luminosity L, how many kilograms of hydrogen is being converted into helium per second? Use the formula that you derive to estimate the mass of hydrogen atoms that are converted into helium in the interior of the sun (LSun = 3.9 x 1026 W).
(Note: the mass of a hydrogen atom is 1 mproton and the mass of a helium atom is 3.97 mproton. You need four hydrogen nuclei to form one helium nucleus.)
Chapter 16 Solutions
21st Century Astronomy
Ch. 16.1 - Prob. 16.1CYUCh. 16.3 - Prob. 16.3CYUCh. 16.4 - Prob. 16.4CYUCh. 16.5 - Prob. 16.5CYUCh. 16 - Prob. 1QPCh. 16 - Prob. 2QPCh. 16 - Prob. 3QPCh. 16 - Prob. 4QPCh. 16 - Prob. 5QPCh. 16 - Prob. 6QP
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- Describe the evolution of a star with a mass similar to that of the Sun, from the protostar stage to the time it first becomes a red giant. Give the description in words and then sketch the evolution on an HR diagram.arrow_forwardLook at the four stages shown in Figure 21.8. In which stage(s) can we see the star in visible light? In infrared radiation? Figure 21.8 Formation of a Star. (a) Dense cores form within a molecular cloud. (b) A protostar with a surrounding disk of material forms at the center of a dense core, accumulating additional material from the molecular cloud through gravitational attraction. (c) A stellar wind breaks out but is confined by the disk to flow out along the two poles of the star. (d) Eventually, this wind sweeps away the cloud material and halts the accumulation of additional material, and a newly formed star, surrounded by a disk, becomes observable. These sketches are not drawn to the same scale. The diameter of a typical envelope that is supplying gas to the newly forming star is about 5000 AU. The typical diameter of the disk is about 100 AU or slightly larger than the diameter of the orbit of Pluto.arrow_forwardIf a 3 and 8 MSunstar formed together in a binary system, which star would: A. Evolve off the main sequence first? B. Form a carbon- and oxygen-rich white dwarf? C. Be the location for a nova explosion?arrow_forward
- Assuming that at the end of the He burning phase of the stellar core (r < R_core) has no H or He or other metals and is composed completely of Carbon, X=Y=0, X_c = 1 ; The envelope above the core has a normal stellar composition ( r > R_core). Calculate the length of time in years that a 1M_sol and 10M_sol star will live on the horizontal branch or the time between the start and end of the He burning phase. Assume that the normal relationship between mass and luminosity holds for horizontal branch stars. Please be as detailed as possiblearrow_forwardFinally estimate the lifetime of an M0 spectral type star if the total mass of the star is M = 0.51M⊙ , and it has a total luminosity L = 7.7× 10−2L⊙. Make the same assumptions as the previous two problems. How does your calculated Main Sequence lifetime for the M0 type star compare to the Main Sequence lifetime you calculated for the Sun?arrow_forwardThe Orion Nebula is a gas-rich region in which stars are being born. The nebula is at a distance of about 1344 lyr from Earth.Suppose you observe a star in the Orion Nebula to have an apparent magnitude of 6.75. Calculate the absolute magnitudeof the star. Also calculate the luminosity of the star in units of the solar luminosity (knowing that the absolute magnitude ofthe Sun is 4.8).arrow_forward
- A red giant that was originally a 9.5MSun main-sequence star loses a solar mass in 100,000 years via a superwind. What is this mass loss rate in units of solar masses per year? (the answer is not 0.000095 solar masses per year). Additionally, at this mass loss rate, what will the red giant's mass be after 0.5 million years? (Enter your answer as a multiple of MSun.)arrow_forwardPlace the following events in the formation of stars in the proper chronological sequence, with the oldest first and the youngest last. w. the gas and dust in the nebula flatten to a disk shape due to gravity and a steadily increasing rate of angular rotation x. a star emerges when the mass is great enough and the temperature is high enough to trigger thermonuclear fusion in the core y. the rotation of the nebular cloud increases as gas and dust concentrates by gravity within the growing protostar in the center z. some force, perhaps from a nearby supernova, imparts a rotation to a nebular cloud y, then z, then w, then x z, then y, then w, then x w, then y, then z, then x z, then x, then w, then y x, then z, then y, then w MacBook Air on .H. O O O Oarrow_forwardOne way to calculate the radius of a star is to use its luminosity and temperature and assume that the star radiates approximately like a blackbody. Astronomers have measured the characteristics of central stars of planetary nebulae and have found that a typical central star is 16 times as luminous and 20 times as hot (about 110,000 K) as the Sun. Find the radius in terms of the Sun’s. How does this radius compare with that of a typical white dwarf?arrow_forward
- A 46M Sun main sequence star loses 1 Msun of mass over 105 years. (Due to the nature of this problem, do not use rounded intermediate values in your calculations including answers submitted in WebAssign.) How many solar masses did it lose in a year? By how much will its luminosity decrease if this mass loss continues over 0.8 million years? Due to the nature of this problem, for all parts, do not use rounded intermediate values in your calculations-including answers submitted in WebAssign. To determine the number of solar masses lost per year, divide the mass lost by the number of years over which it was lost. Mlost tlost-yr Part 1 of 3 dM = dM = MSun/yrarrow_forwardThe mass-luminosity relation describes the mathematical relationship between luminosity and mass for main sequence stars. It describes how a star with a mass of 4 M⊙ would have a luminosity of ______ L⊙. If a star has a radius 1/2 that of the Sun and a temperature 4 that of the Sun, how many times higher is the star's luminosity than that of the Sun? (If it is smaller by a factor of 8, you would write 0.125 because 1/8=0.125) If a star has a radius 2 times larger than the Sun's and a luminosity 1/4th that of the Sun, how many times higher is the star's temperature than that of the Sun? (If it is smaller by a factor of 8, you would write 0.125 because 1/8=0.125) If a star has a surface temperature 2 times lower than the Sun's and a luminosity the same as the Sun, how many times larger is the star than the Sun? (If it is smaller by a factor of 8, you would write 0.125 because 1/8=0.125)arrow_forwardFor the PP chain 0.7% of the mass participating in nuclear fusion is liberated as energy which produces a star's luminosity. Assume that the core of a main sequence star consists of 10% of its total mass. Hence, estimate the lifetime of a star on the main sequence in terms of its luminosity L/L. Give your answer in years. You may use the observed mass-luminosity relation L x M³.5, where M is the star's total mass. Using typical values, calculate estimates for the main sequence lifetime of a KO star and a 05 star. Describe briefly why your estimate might be more accurate for K stars compared to O stars.arrow_forward
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