PROPERTIES OF STARS Chaisson & McMillan, Chs 3 & 4

Properties of Typical Main Sequence Stars

• M_* = 0.08 to ~50-100 times the mass of the Sun
• R_* = 0.1 to ~10³ times the radius of the Sun
• Surface Temperature = 2,500 Kelvin to 50,000-100,000 Kelvin^*
• L_* = 10^-4 to 10⁵ times the luminosity of the Sun

Properties of the Sun (Solar Units)

• M_Sun = 2.0x10³⁰ kg
• R_Sun = 7.0x10⁵ km
• T_Sun = 5,800 K
• L_Sun = 3.9x10²⁶ W

Question: How are these numbers are determined?

• masses
• radii
• surface temperatures
• luminosities

^*Kelvin temperature scale starts at Absolute Zero (-273.15 Centigrade [C]); Centigrade starts at the freezing point of water.

Kelvin: T(K) = T(C) + 273.15

Centigrade: T(C) = (5/9)*[T(F)-32 F] -- F stands for Farenheit (absolute zero is -459.7 F)