Stars Problem Sheet 1

Please hand in your solutions by 12:30 Monday 10 November 2014.

1. (a) The star Arcturus has a parallax of 0.091 arcsec. What is its distance, in parsecs?
(b) The apparent visual magnitude of Arcturus is 0.10. What is its absolute visual
magnitude?
2. In astronomy, the dimension D of an object is often determined from a knowledge
of its distance r and its angular size . Drawing the long thin triangle to the object,
we might write D = 2r tan( /2), but because the angle is usually very small, we
normally approximate this equation by D = r , where is in radians. Show that the
fractional error introduced by this approximation for small (in radians) is D/D '
2 /12. Remember that for small , tan ' + 3 /3. Finally, estimate the fractional
error D/D introduced by the approximation when is (a) 10 degrees, (b) 1 degree,
(c) 1 arc minute and (d) 1 arc second.
3. (a) The flux of solar radiation at the Earth is 1.37 103 W m2 . Assuming that
the wavelength of a typical solar photon is 500 nm, estimate the solar flux, in
photons per square metre per second, at the Earth.
(b) The Sun has an apparent magnitude of 26.8, whilst that of the faintest stars
visible to the naked eye is ' +6. Estimate the number of photons striking the
retina per second from such a star, assuming that the dark-adapted pupil has a
diameter of 7 mm.
4. In 1984, Smith and Terrile published observations of a dusty disc extending out to
25 arcseconds on either side of the star Pictoris. If the distance to Pictoris is
17 pc, calculate the diameter of this disk in Astronomical Units. Could this material
form a planetary system like our own?
5. Two Cepheid variable stars are observed with a photon-counting detector and are
found to have the same period. The mean counting rate from the first star is 2.4107
counts per second, while that from the second is 3.6 104 counts per second. What
is the difference in the apparent visual magnitude of the two stars? If the distance to
the first star is 80 pc, what can you say about the distance to the second star?

Stars Problem Sheet 2

Please hand in your solutions by 12:30 Monday 17th November 2014.
1. (a) A binary system, consisting of two identical stars, has a parallax of 0.15 arcsec.
Calculate its distance in parsecs.
(b) The maximum observed separation between two stars is 4.1 arcseconds. Assuming that the orbits are circular, calculate the radii of the orbits in AU.
(c) If the orbital period is 70 years, calculate the masses of the two stars in solar
masses.
2. (a) Explain what is meant by the colour index, (B V ), of a star.
(b) Use a sketch of black body spectra to explain why the colour index is positive for
a cool star and negative for a hot star.
3. Measurements are made on two stars with the same colour index. The first star has a
parallax of 0.12 arcsec and an apparent magnitude m1 = +6.0; the second star has a
parallax of 0.07 arcsec and an apparent magnitude m2 = +18. What are the absolute
magnitudes of the two stars? If the first star is a main sequence star, what type of star
is the second star?
4. The lifetime of the Sun on the main sequence of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram is
estimated to be 1010 years. Assuming that the luminosities of stars on the upper main
sequence vary as (mass)4 , estimate the stellar mass, in solar masses, for which the
main sequence lifetime would be 106 years.
5. (a) Estimate the fraction of the Suns luminosity, L , which is intercepted by the
Moon, given that the Moon has a radius of 1740 km.
(b) Assuming that the Moon reflects 7% of the sunlight falling on it, estimate the
flux of moonlight received at the Earth from a full Moon, giving your answer in
terms of L . The radius of the Moons orbit is 3.84 105 km.
(c) Assuming that, at its peak, a supernova has luminosity 109 L , estimate at what
distance (in parsecs) a supernova would have to be in order to give the same
flux at the Earth as the full Moon.

Stars Problem Sheet 3

Please hand in your solutions by 12:30 Monday 24th November 2014.
1. A white dwarf has a mass ' 1M and a radius ' 102 R . Estimate the values of
the stars (a) mean density, and (b) central pressure, in terms of the corresponding
quantities for the Sun. Why is it not possible, using only these data, to compare the
central temperatures of the two stars?
2. Show that the central temperatures of stars lying on the main sequence of the HertzsprungRussell diagram vary as M /R, where M is the mass of a star and R is its radius.
3. Consider a model star with density at radius r given by (r) = c (1 r/R ), where
c is the central density and R is the stellar radius.
(a) By integrating the shell mass 4r 2 (r)d r from 0 to r1 , show that the mass
within a radius r1 , M (r1 ), is given by M (r1 ) = 4c (r13 /3 r14 /4R ).
(b) Hence show that the mass of the star is M = c R3 /3, and the mean density is
m = c /4.
(c) By integrating the hydrostatic equilibrium condition, show that the central pressure is given by Pc = 5Gc2 R2 /36 = 5GM m /3R .
4. [Optional].
(a) Show that the energy required to move a thin spherical shell of gas from the
surface of a uniform density star to infinity is
dU =

16
3

G2 r 4 2 d r,

where r is the radius of the shell, d r the thickness of the shell and the density
of the star. (Hint: gravitational potential energy U = Gm1 m2 /r).
(b) Hence show by integration that the gravitational binding energy of a star of mass
M and radius R is
3GM 2
.
U=
5R
5. Explain why, as a star evolves, an increase in central temperature is required for each
successive stage of thermonuclear burning. What produces this increase in temperature in the core of the star?
6. Estimate the minimum possible rotation period for (a) the Sun, and (b) a white dwarf
star with a mass ' 1M and radius ' 102 R .
7. Explain why radio images and X-ray images of the Sun show the corona, whilst optical
images show the photosphere.