Relationship between mass and surface temperature of a star

AI Thread Summary
There is a discussion about the relationship between mass and surface temperature of blue supergiants, particularly a star with 24 solar masses. A rough formula suggests that temperature can be estimated using T = T(sol)*M^0.5, resulting in a calculated temperature of 28,306 K, which is outside the expected range for O-class stars. Factors such as spectral class, luminosity, age, and metal content are considered important in determining a star's surface temperature. The consensus leans towards the idea that there may not be a reliable relationship between mass and temperature for non-main sequence stars. Overall, more information is needed to accurately calculate the surface temperature of such massive stars.
jewfro420
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i was wondering if there is a relationship between mass and temperature that would allow me to calculate the surface temperature of a blue super giant of 24 solar masses?

or do i simply need more information to do this
 
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I think you would need to know things like age of the star, makeup of the star, and similar stuff.
 
jewfro420 said:
i was wondering if there is a relationship between mass and temperature that would allow me to calculate the surface temperature of a blue super giant of 24 solar masses?

or do i simply need more information to do this

It's roughly T = T(sol)*M0.5 with M in solar masses.
 
qraal said:
It's roughly T = T(sol)*M0.5 with M in solar masses.
By using T = 5,778 * 24^0.5
I get 28,306 K, which is slightly outside the 30,000 K - 52,000 K range for O class stars.
So either I didn't use it right, or it doesn't work for O class stars.

Probably what will be an important factor in determining surface temp is the spectral class (O B A F G K M), and luminosity.
 
24 solar masses is enormous. This is more than Rigel; it's looking like something like Alnitak. Which, by the way, is around 30K. Getting within 10% with a hand-wavy formula is pretty good.
 
Am I incorrect in thinking that age, metal content, and other various factors would affect the stars temp as well?
 
so basically i think that there is no relationship between mass and temperature for non main sequence stars so this can't be done. cheers for your help anyways
 
jewfro420 said:
so basically i think that there is no relationship between mass and temperature for non main sequence stars so this can't be done. cheers for your help anyways
There might be a correlation between brightness/magnitude/luminosity and temperature, but that's just my guess.
 
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