Monday, February 20, 2012

Why would a star with a high surface temperature, not have a high luminosity?

The Beta Centauri star has a surface temperature of 24000 and a luminosity of 3500, whereas the Rigel star has a surface temperature of 11200 and a luminosity of 42000.

Why is this?Why would a star with a high surface temperature, not have a high luminosity?Here's a hint:
Which one produces more light? A laser pointer -- or a big room lamp?Why would a star with a high surface temperature, not have a high luminosity?hot things start becoming darkerWhy would a star with a high surface temperature, not have a high luminosity?Think about the factor determine luminosity .Why would a star with a high surface temperature, not have a high luminosity?
Relative luminosity depends upon absolute luminosity (a function of temperature) and visible disk area, which depends on absolute visible disk area and the distance between the star and the observer. Usually ignored is the addition amount of light intercepted by cold gas along the path of the photons, because it is usually negligible.



In your case, Beta Centauri is close, but it is very small compared to Rigel. While being very close to Alpha Centauri doesn't affect its relative luminosity, it does make it a lot less visible because of the competing glare.

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