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Chapter 17: Problem 16

If a red star and a blue star both have the same radius and both are the same distance from the Earth, which one looks brighter in the night sky? Explain why.

Short Answer

Expert verified
The blue star will look brighter in the night sky because it has a higher temperature than the red star, and therefore emits more light per unit of surface area.

Step by step solution

01

- Acknowledge Equal Radius and Distance

First, take into account that both stars have the same radius and are at the same distance from the Earth. This information tells us that any differences in brightness are not due to size or distance discrepancies.
02

- Analyze Color of the Stars

Next, understand the fact that different colors of stars correspond to different temperatures. Red stars are cooler while blue stars are hotter. The hotter a star is, the more light it emits per unit of surface area.
03

- Conclude Which Star is Brighter

Given that a blue star is hotter than a red star, and hotter stars emit more light per unit area, we can conclude that the blue star will appear brighter in the sky than the red star, all else being equal.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Sketch the light curve of an eclipsing binary consisting of two identical stars in highly elongated orbits oriented so that (a) their major axes are pointed toward the Earth and (b) their major axes are perpendicular to our line of sight.

. What is the mass-luminosity relation? Does it apply to stars of all kinds?

Describe how the parallax method of finding a star's distance is similar to binocular (two-eye) vision in humans.

Why are measurements of stellar parallax difficult to make? What are the advantages of making these measurements from orbit?

Which gives a more accurate measure of a star's surface temperature, its color ratios or its spectral lines? Explain.
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