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View Full Version : Are hotter stars always brighter?


whatta
Jan30-07, 09:00 AM
I posted it under celestia development forums (http://www.shatters.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10687) but I wonder if, per chance, it is my misconception, so I ask it here.

Is that true that absolute magnitude should be proportional to star temperature; that is, are hotter stars always brighter?

edit: okay, I looked things up, changed my plot a bit, so now it looks more like right.

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/565/aaaaawm9.jpg

but. this means stars that are not in "main sequence" cannot be modelled by black bodies. what are their spectrum models?

Astronuc
Jan30-07, 11:33 AM
Here is a good discussion of magnitude and luminosity.

http://www.astronomynotes.com/starprop/s4.htm
and
http://www.astronomynotes.com/light/s4.htm#A2.1

The energy flux or power per unit area is determined by T4, where T is the temperature. Search on Stefan-Boltzmann law.

The luminosity - the total amount of energy radiated by the star every second - is related to the size as well as temperature.

whatta
Jan30-07, 11:43 AM
yep I haven't thought of multiplying by star surface. that was it, thank you.