Astronomy and Astrophysics : May 2014

Introduction to Astronomy

Astronomy is the science of studying the celestial objects (such as stars, planets, comets,
galaxies etc.) and phenomena that lie outside the Earth's atmosphere. It is concerned with
the physics, chemistry, and motion of celestial objects, as well as the formation and
evolution of all these objects and of the universe as a whole.

Astronomy is the oldest of all sciences, which perhaps began with the earliest
civilizations. Astronomers of early civilizations performed methodical observations of the
night sky, which is evident from the astronomical artifacts which have been found from
those earlier periods.

While watching the nightly east to west motions of stars they found that five star like
objects, while following the nightly east-west motion, also moved eastwards with respect
to other fixed stars. These five objects were called planets, which in Greek means
wonderer. These objects were later found to be much different than stars.

It is a general perception that on a day of most favourable sky conditions one can see
millions of stars with unaided eye i.e. without the help of any optical aid e.g. a binocular
or a telescope. Even though there are millions of stars in the sky the range of unaided eye
is limited to only about 5800 stars. If we take into account the fact that half of the sky is
below the horizon and stars close to horizon are difficult to see, one can actually see only
about 2500 stars at a time on any clear night.

Historically, astronomy has included disciplines as diverse as celestial navigation,

observational/theoretical astronomy, making of calendars, and even astrology. However,
the invention of the telescope in the 17 th century may be considered to be the beginning
of astronomy into a modern science. Since the 20th century, the field of professional
astronomy is split into observational and theoretical branches. Observational astronomy
is focused on acquiring data and analyzing it using basic principles of physics.
Theoretical astronomy is oriented towards the development of computer or analytical
models to describe celestial objects and phenomena. The two fields complement each
other, with theoretical astronomy seeking to explain the observational results, and
observations being used to confirm theoretical results.

As understanding of astronomical phenomena requires extensive application of physics,

hence most astronomers call the branch astrophysics. Other fields of knowledge that are
useful in astronomy include chemistry, geology, biology etc.

Astronomy is one of the few sciences where amateurs have contributed significantly in
making many important discoveries, and can still play an active role, especially in the
discovery of comets and observations of other transient phenomena.
In early times, astronomy only comprised of making observations and predictions of the
motions of objects visible to the naked eye. As civilizations developed, most notably in
Mesopotamia, Greece, Egypt, Persia, Maya, India, China, and the Islamic world,
astronomical observatories were established and ideas on the nature of the universe began
to be explored. Most of early astronomy consisted of mapping the positions of the stars
and planets, a science now referred to as astrometry. From these observations, early ideas
about the motions of the planets were formed, and the nature of the Sun, Moon and the
Earth in the universe were explored philosophically. The Earth was believed to be the
center of the universe with the Sun, the Moon and the stars revolving around it. This is
known as the geocentric model of the universe.

A few notable astronomical discoveries were made prior to the discovery of the
telescope. For example, the obliquity of the ecliptic was estimated as early as 1000 BC by
the Chinese. The Chaldeans discovered that lunar eclipses recurred in a repeating cycle
known as saros. In the 2nd century BC, the size and distance of the Moon were estimated
by Hipparchus.

During the Renaissance, Nicolaus Copernicus proposed a heliocentric model of the solar
system. His model was supported by Galileo Galilei’s observations through his telescope
of satellites of Jupiter and Johannes Kepler’s discovery of the laws of planetary motion
with Sun at the centre, that described correctly the details of the motion of the planets.
However, Kepler did not succeed in formulating a theory behind the laws he wrote down.
It was Newton's invention of his law of gravitation and celestial dynamics that finally
explained the motions of the planets.

The astronomer William Herschel made a detailed catalog of nebulosities and clusters,
and in 1781 discovered the planet Uranus, the first new planet of the solar system.

The distance to a star was first determined in 1838 when the parallax of 61 Cygni
was measured by Friedrich W. Bessel.

During the nineteenth century, attention to the three body problem by Euler, Clairaut, and
D'Alembert led to more accurate predictions about the motions of the Moon and planets.
This work was further refined by Lagrange and Laplace, allowing the masses of the
planets and moons to be estimated from their perturbations.

Significant advances in astronomy came about in the 19 th century with the introduction of
new technology, including the spectroscope and photography. Fraunhofer discovered
about 600 bands in the spectrum of the Sun in 1814-15, which, in 1859, Kirchhoff
ascribed to the presence of different elements. Stars were proven to be similar to the
Earth's own Sun, but with a wide range of temperatures, masses, and sizes.

The existence of our galaxy, the Milky Way, as a separate group of stars, was only
proved in the 20th century, along with the existence of "external" galaxies. Modern
astronomy has discovered many exotic objects such as quasars, pulsars, blazars, and radio
galaxies, and has used these observations to develop physical theories which describe

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some of these objects in terms of equally exotic objects such as black holes and neutron
stars. Physical cosmology made huge advances during the 20th century, with the model
of the Big Bang heavily supported by the evidence provided by astronomy and physics,
such as the cosmic microwave background radiation, Hubble's law, and cosmological
abundances of elements.

Astronomical studies are different from other branches of science in the sense that in the
case of astronomy the only source of information is through the electromagnetic radiation
we receive from the celestial objects. However, only the visible part of the spectrum can
be observed from the Earth's surface, while other parts are only observable from either
high altitudes or space. Now the observing techniques have advanced so much that each
broad part of the electromagnetic spectrum has become a branch of study in itself e.g.
Radio , Infrared, Visible, UV, X-ray and Gamma-ray Astronomies.

For any study, the most fundamental quantities that we need to know are :

„ The position of objects (r,θ,Φ,t)

„ Appearance of the object (Brightness, color etc.)

„ Their spectra ( Spectral Classification )

„ The time

„ Inertial system etc.

Before we go to know about the above fundamental quantities, first let us have a look at
the sky and how the ancients have described it.

On any clear night the sky will look like the one shown below, with twinkling little stars,
some more bright than the others, some showing clear red or blue color.

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Ancients have identified certain groups of stars with figures of animals, birds, their
mythological heroes etc. These groups of stars are called constellations. Some of these
constellations are easy to identify with their names like Scorpio, Cassiopeia, Big Dipper
etc, while others need extreme imagination like Pisces, Draco, etc. Now the whole sky
has been divided into 88 constellations keeping the boundaries of the old ones intact.
Some of the constellations are shown below.

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The twelve constellations lying along the path of the Sun and the Moon are called signs
of Zodiac.

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The real purpose of forming constellations is to help us in identifying a particular star.
Constellations also help us by breaking the sky into manageable bits.

Some of the prominent constellations are :

Nominative case Genitive case Designation English name

Andromeda Andromedae And Princes of Ethiopia
Aries Arietis Ari Ram
Bootis Bootis Boo Bear Driver
Canis Major Canis Majoris CMa Big Dog
Orion Orionis Ori Mighty Hunter
Scorpio Scorpii Sco Scorpion

Constellations by month

Some of the constellations that become visible at 9 P.M. local time in different months
are given below. For every hour after 9 P.M. advance by half a month and for every hour
earlier than 9 P.M. go back by half a month.

Jan Dorado, Orion,Taurus

Feb Auriga, Canis Major, Gemini
Mar Cancer, Canis Major,Carina, Lynx
Apr Leo, Sextant, Ursa Major
May Centaurus, Corvus, Crux, Virgo
Jun Bootis, Libra, Lupus, Ursa Minor
Jul Corona Borialis, Draco, Scorpious, Serpens
Aug Lyra, Saggitarius, Scutum, Telescopium
Sep Aquila, Cygnus, Delphinus, Capricornus
Oct Aquarius, Cephus, Lacerta, Pegasus
Nov Andromeda, Cassiopiea, Pisces
Dec Aries, Cetus, Fornax, Perseus

About 200 to 300 stars were given proper names over 500 to 2000 years ago, mostly by
Greeks and Arabs. However in India the asterisms (nakshatras) names are being used
from the earliest Vedic times.

Sirius (Lubdhak) α Canis Majoris

Canopus (Agustya) α Carinae
Capella (Brahmahridaya) α Auriga
Antares (Jyestha) α Scorpii
Spica (Chitra) α Virginis
Aldebran (Rohini) α Tauri

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As all the stars could not be given individual names, several systems of assigning letters
or numbers to stars in a constellations are in use. The earliest such system is that of
Bayer, who in 1603 identified brightest stars in a constellation by Greek letters α, β, γ etc.
in his catalogue “Uranemetria’.

As Greek letters are only 18 in number, Flamsteed in 1729 numbered the brightest stars
from west to east in his catalogue ‘Historia Celestis’.

The fainter stars visible through the telescope are identified by their numbers in a
modern star catalogue. Some important star catalogues are :

1. Bonner Durchumustrung ( BD )
2. Henry Draper Catalogue ( HD )
3. The Bright Star Catalogue ( HR )
4. Boss Catalogue ( Boss )
5. Fundamental Catalogue ( FK )
6. Messier Catalogue of nebular Objects (M)
7. New General Catalogue ( NGC )
8. Index Catalogue ( IC )
9. Cambridge Survey Catalogue of Radio Sources etc. ( 3C & 4C )

Some of the prominent Messier objects are :

M 1 The crab Nebula : M 31 The Andromeda Galaxy

M 42 The Great Orion Nebula : M 45 The Pleiades Cluster

The Celestial Sphere

It is an imaginary sphere of infinite size surrounding the Earth on which all the stars and
other objects in the sky appear to be embedded.

• The Earth blocks half of its view at any time.

• As Earth rotates different stars come into view.
• The stars which we can see depend on the date, time and place of observation.

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Aspects (Orientation) of sky from different places

(A) Observer located on the earth’s equator

(B) Observer located at intermediate latitude

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(C) Observer located at the poles

Important cardinal points and reference circles

0 90
or 360
270 180

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Altitude of pole is equal to latitude of place.

As stated above one of the basic needs of any physical sciences, is to know the positions
of objects relative to each other. Scientifically, this is done by properly assigning
numbers to each position in space; these numbers are called coordinates and the system
defined by this procedure a coordinate system. As we are dealing here with a system
which looks like a very large sphere, called the celestial sphere, inside of which all the
tiny bright dots seem to be embedded, we define astronomical coordinate systems in a
way similar to that we use to define positions on the surface of the Earth.

But let us first know some basic definitions concerning spheres.

• Great Circle : is the circle generated by the intersection of the sphere by a plane
passing through the centre of the sphere.

• Small circle : is the circle generated by the intersection of the sphere by a plane
not passing through the centre of the sphere.

• Poles of the great circle : are the two points which are 90 0 away from all points on
the great circle.
0
• Spherical Triangle : is any triangle formed by three great circle arcs (<180 ) and
has the following properties.

(i) any two sides > third side

(ii) sum of three angles > 1800
(iii) each angle or side < 1800

Here the angles are denoted by capital letters (upper case) and the sides opposite to an
angle by the small letter (lower case) of the same alphabet as shown in the fig. above.

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Important formulae of spherical trigonometry :

(i) Sine formula : sin A / sin a = sin B / sin b = sin C / sin c

(ii) Cosine formula : cas a = cos b cos c + sin b sin c cos A

On Earth, positions are usually given by two angles, the longitude and the latitude
(coordinates) on the surface of Earth.

The natural reference (great) circle here is the Earth's equator whose two poles are the
North and the South pole.

The circles on the Earth's surface which are parallel to the equator are called the latitude
circles. The latitude for all points on these circles is constant.

Half circles from pole to pole, which are all perpendicular to the equatorial plane, are
called meridians. One of the meridians, the one which passes through the Greenwich
Observatory near London, England, is taken as reference meridian, or Null meridian. The
point where this meridian cuts the equator is taken as the zero point of longitude.
Geographical Longitude is measured as the angle between this zero point and the point
where the meridian under consideration cuts the equator. The longitude is of course the
same for all points of the meridian.

The geographic
position of a
place

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Because Earth is not exactly spherical, but slightly flattened, its surface (defined by the
ocean surface or the corresponding gravitational potential) forms a specific figure, the so-
called Geoid, which is very similar to a slightly oblate spheroid (the reference ellipsoid).
This is the reason why there are two common but different definitions of latitude on
Earth:

• Geocentric Latitude, measured as angle at the Earth's center, between the

equatorial plane and the direction to the surface point under consideration, and
• Geographical Latitude, measured on the surface between the parallel plane to the
equatorial plane and the line orthogonal to the surface, the local vertical or plumb
line, which may be measured by the direction of gravitational force (e.g., plumb).

The absolute value of the geocentric latitude is always smaller or equal (at poles and
equator)

Hence for any astronomical coordinate system we need to define the following: an origin,
a reference great circle and a zero point on this circle got by the intersection of this circle
with a vertical great circle. Depending on the convenience of specific purpose, the
following coordinate systems are used in astronomical studies.

Celestial coordinates

Origin Name of system Reference circle and point

Observer Topocentric 1.Horizon,North point ( Altitude, Azimuth
2. Celestial equator, Local meridian (HA, Dec)
Centre of Earth Geocentric 1.Celestial Equator, Gamma point (RA, DEC)
2.Ecliptic, Gamma point (Longitude, Latitude)
Centre of Sun Heliocentric Ecliptic, Gamma point (Longitude, Latitude)
Centre of Moon Selenocentric Moon’s equator and its intersection with ecliptic
Centre of planet Planetocentric Planets equator and its intersection with ecliptic
Centre of Galaxy Galactic Galactic equator, direction to its centre (long.,
Lat.)

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Some simple facts: in northern latitude φ, a star of declination δ attains its maximum
altitude amax at upper transit, where a max = 90o – (φ – δ).

The stars having δ > (90o – φ) are always above the horizon (never set) and those with δ <
(90o – φ) are always below the horizon (never rise). These stars are called circumpolar
stars.

Conversion of coordinates : each of the above coordinate systems may be converted to

other systems by using spherical trigonometric formulae. The often used equatorial (α , δ)
and ecliptic (λ , β) coordinates may be converted as follows.

Conversion from (α , δ) to (λ , β) :

cos β cos λ = cos δ cos α

cos β sin λ = sin δ sin ε + cos δ cos ε sin α
sin β = sin δ cos ε - cos δ sin ε sin α

Conversion from (λ , β) to (α , δ) :

cos δ cos α = cos β cos λ

cos δ sin α = - sin β sin ε + cos β cos ε sin λ
sin δ = sin β cos ε + cos β sin ε sin λ

where ε (~23o 27’) is the obliquity of the ecliptic.

The coordinates defined by the above systems are the geometrical positions. However,
certain physical phenomena alter these positions and hence observed positions have to be
corrected for these.

• Refraction : caused due to varying density in the Earth’s atmosphere. Increases

the altitude of the object.

• Parallax : It is the change in the direction of the celestial body as seen from
different locations of the observer. Decreases the altitude of the object.

• Aberration : Discovered by Bradley in 1728, is due to finite speed of light and the
Earth. The constant of aberration is 20.45 sec of arc.

• Pression and Nutation : The gravitational pull of the Sun and the Moon on the
equatorial bulge of the Earth causes the Earth to presses. The result is the
”
backward motion of the gamma point along the ecliptic (~50 /yr) and slight
change in the obliquity of the ecliptic.

• Proper motion of stars : The phenomenon was discovered by Halley in 1718. He

found that most stars instead of being fixed in space change their positions slowly.

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 These positional changes arise partly due to Sun’s motion in space and partly due to
actual motion of the star itself.

The Seasons

The apparent path of the Sun in the sky is a great circle called the ecliptic. It makes an
angle of about 23 o 27 ’ (ε) with the Earth’s equator and is called the obliquity of the
ecliptic. It is this inclination of the Earth’s rotation axis which causes the seasons.
st
In the northern hemisphere the Sun reaches its maximum dec (δ) on 21 June and
minimum dec (δ) on 22 Dec. The Sun attains zero dec (δ=0) on 21 March and on 23 rd
nd st

Sep.

Start date Point name Season Sun’s Coordinate Sun enters

constellation
R.A. Dec
(h) (deg)
Mar. 21 * Vernal equinox Spring 0 0 Aries
June 21 Summer Solstice Summer 6 +23o 27’ Cancer
Sep. 23 * Autumnal equinox Autumn 12 0 Libra
Dec. 22 Winter Solstice Winter 18 -23o 27’ Capricorn
* on these days the length of day and night are equal

The Time

In physics time and space are considered fundamental quantities and hence they can not
be measured in terms of any other quantities. Thus the only definition possible is an
operational one in which time is defined by process of measurement of an interval and
the units chosen. In astronomy there are phenomena that recur at regular intervals and
hence can be used as units of time.

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Various units of time (natural and artificial), in use, are defined as follows:

The Year : We can define the year in the following several ways.

The Sidereal Year : It the time required by the Sun to make a complete circuit of the
ecliptic i.e. moving exactly 360 o. The length of this year is 365.256363 mean solar days
(msd).

The Tropical Year : It is the average time interval between two consecutive passages of
the Sun through the vernal equinox (the γ point). As this point moves backwards due to
o
precession the Sun covers slightly less than 360 . The length of tropical year is
365.242190 msd.

The relationship between sidereal and tropical years is :

Sidereal Year : Tropical Year = 360 o : ( 360o – 50.”29 )

For civil purposes the tropical year is used which is more convenient.

The other useful definitions of years are :

Anomalistic Year : It is the interval of two consecutive passage of the Sun through its
perigee. The length is 365.259635 msd.

Eclipse Year : It is the interval of two consecutive passages of the Sun through the
Moon’s node. The length is 346.620074 msd.

As the year is defined by the revolution of the Sun, the month is defined by the revolution
of the Moon in its orbit. We have the following months.

Sidereal Month : It is the interval of two consecutive passages of the Moon from some
point on ecliptic to the same point again. The length is 27.321661 msd.

Tropical Month: It is the interval of two consecutive passage of the sun from equinox to
equinox. Its length is 27.321582 msd.

Synodic Month : It is the interval from new-moon to next new moon or from one full
moon to next full moon. Its length is 29.530588 msd.

Likewise the day is defined by the alteration of daylight and night. This duration is taken
in one of the following ways for civil and calendar use.

(a) Sun rise to Sun rise (b) Sun set to Sun set (c) mid-night to midnight

The mean solar day used above is the time of one complete rotation of the Earth on its
axis. It is equal to one meridian transit of the Sun to the next.

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Sidereal Time : Like stars the γ point also moves from east to west due to Earth’s rotation
on its axis. The Sidereal time at any instant, at a given place, is defined as the hour angle
of the γ point. As this point moves backwards due to precession the sidereal time is
defined in the following two ways. (a) The sidereal time with respect to fixed equinox is
called uniform sidereal time and (b) with respect to moving equinox is called true sidereal
time. The two are related as follows :

True sidereal time = uniform sidereal time + nutation in R.A

The local sidereal time at a place = {α (R. A.) + H (Hour angle)} of any object.

Since RA is related to time, it is expressed in hour, minutes and seconds (h m s) units. So

we have : 24 h = 360o i.e.

1 h=15o , 1 m=15’, 1 s =15” conversely 1o= 4 m, 1’= 4 s.

Artificial units of time in use are : week, decade, century etc.

The Julian Date (JD): In certain observations (e.g. variable stars) it is found to be more
convenient to express the instant of observations as so many days and fraction of a day
from a definite fundamental epoch.

In 1582, the French scholar, Joseph Scaliger, introduced a system of continuous counting
of days known as ‘Julian Days’, after his father Julius Scaliger. The beginning of this
date is taken as January 1, 4713 BC 12h U.T., a date which covers all historical events.

For Gregorian dates after March 1900 AD, JD for noon may be computed from the
following single line FORTRAN statement :

JD=367*Y-7*(Y+(M+9)/12)/4+275*M/9+D+1721014

where Y is Year, M Month and D day :

JD for any hour, H, of the date = JD for noon + (H-12)/24

Atomic Time : Time scale generated by atomic clocks are more accurate than was
possible with measurement of rotation of the Earth about its axis and revolution around
the Sun.

An atomic clock is a type of clock that uses an atomic resonance frequency standard to
feed its counter. A second is thus defined as 9,192,631,770 cycles of radiation which
correspond to the transition between two electron spin energy levels of the ground state
of 133Cs atom.
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National standards agencies maintain an accuracy of 10 sec per day. These clocks
maintain a continuous and stable time scale.

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The Mean Solar Time : Our civil life greatly depends on the position of the Sun in the
sky. The true solar time is the one indicated by a sundial and is defined as :

true solar time = hour angle of the Sun + 12 hours

But the Sun’s apparent motion in the sky is non-uniform due to its motion in an elliptic
orbit (Kepler’s 2 nd law) and the obliquity of the ecliptic. Hence the true solar time varies
throughout the year, which is not convenient for civil purposes. Therefore a mean solar
time was introduced; it is based on a fictitious Sun which moves along the equator with
uniform speed but takes exactly the same to make one complete revolution as the true sun
takes in moving along the ecliptic. Thus the mean time is defined as :

mean solar time = hour angle of the mean Sun + 12 hours

The difference between the two times is called the equation of time.

equation of time = true solar time – mean solar time

The extreme values of this are :

Date : Feb. 12 May 14 Jul. 26 Nov. 4

Equation of time (min) : -14.3 +3.7 -6.4 +16.4

Mean solar time is different for each meridian. To simplify things Earth has been divided
into different time zones. Each country adopts a suitable time zone for the entire country.
For example the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or Universal Time (UT) is the mean solar
time for the Greenwich meridian. The Indian Standard Time (IST) is the mean solar time
at a meridian 5h 30m east of Greenwich. The time is measured starting with 0.00h at
midnight and ending with 24h at the next midnight.

The heliocentric correction : Since the Earth undergoes several motions simultaneously
the observed time interval between any two events (observations) is affected by the
displacement of the Earth between them. Therefore it is necessary to reduce the observed
timings to a fixed frame of reference like the Sun. This reduction of time is called
heliocentric correction and may be obtained as follows:

HJD = GJD+K* R*{cos(λ)*cos(α)*cos(δ)+sin(λ)*[sin(ε)*sin(δ)+cos(ε)*cos(δ)*sin(α) ]},

where HJD is the heliocentric JD,

GJD is geocentric JD (JD for the time of observation)
K is the light time in days from the Earth to the Sun (~ 0.000578 days) ,
R is the distance of the Sun in AU,
λ is the true longitude of the Sun,
ε is the true obliquity of the ecliptic ,
α & δ are the geocentric equatorial coordinates of the star.

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Eclipses of the Sun and the Moon

A solar eclipse takes place when the Moon’s shadow falls on the Earth, while a lunar
eclipse takes place when the Moon passes through the shadow of the Earth. Depending
on the portion of the disk covered we have the following categories of eclipses. Total,
Annular (only for sun), partial and penumbral (only for Moon).

Ancients have already discovered that the eclipses succeed each other with a period of
about 18 yr 11 d, called the saros cycle. This cycle is based upon the fact that an eclipse
can occur only when the Sun and the Moon are close to a lunar node. This becomes
apparent through the following synchronism of various periods.

223 synodic months = 6585.32 d

239 anomalistic months = 6585.54 d
19 eclipse years = 6585.78 d

Thus an eclipse configuration indeed repeats itself with a good accuracy after
18yr 11.33d.

By considering the orbits of the Sun and the Moon and taking their diameters into
account it can be shown that in a year we can have maximum of 7 eclipses (4 solar and 3
lunar or 5 solar and 2 lunar) and minimum of 2 eclipses of which both will be solar.

Observable quantities

The first thing we note about the stars is that they differ in brightness and if looked
carefully then one can also notice the difference in colours.

Therefore a basic quantity which can be observed and measured for a star is its
brightness. Hipparchus (second century BC) was the first who classified about 1000 stars
into six classes on the basis of their apparent brightness. The sixth brightest being the one
which is just visible to the unaided normal eye.

The stars have very broad range of brightness ( the brightness ratio of the Sun to a star
just visible to the naked eye is 1.32 x 10 13 ). Hence astronomers use a logarithmic scale to
classify stellar brightness, called the magnitude (mag.) scale.

The Magnitude Scale by Pogson

In 1856, N. R. Pogson, quantitatively defined the magnitude scale by taking the

brightness ratio of first mag star to that of sixth mag star to be exactly 100 : 1 . He
assumed that ratio of brightness of two stars differing by one magnitude is constant i.e.

B1 = 100 and B1 = B2 = B3 = B4 = B5 = ()
x say
B6 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6

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 or B1 = x5 = 100 or x = ( 100 )1/5 = 2.512
B6

Thus the magnitudes m 1 and m 2 of two stars are related to the corresponding brightness
b1 and b2 through the relation :

m 2 – m1 = 2.5 ( log10 b1 – log10 b2 )

= 2.5 log10 ( b1 / b2 )

Therefore if the apparent mag of two stars differ by unity then their brightness will differ
by a factor of 2.512. This is known as the Pogson Scale of magnitudes.

If B m and B n ( n > m ) be the brightness of two stars having magnitudes m and n

respectively, then we have :

Bm = ()  
log Bm  = ()()()
()n− m
2.512 or n − m log 2.512 = 0.4 n − m
Bn  Bn 

 Bm  Bm = 10 0.4 ()n−m
or ()
n − m = 2.5 log  or
 Bn  Bn

For fixing the zero point of the scale, the average brightness of 100 sixth mag. stars near
the NCP in the BD catalogue was taken. When this was done it became necessary to
introduce zero and negative magnitude classes for the brightest stars. On the other hand
the stars fainter than the sixth mag that became visible through telescope had to be given
mag classes 7th, 8th, 9th, …….24th etc.

Apparent magnitude of some objects

• The Sun -26.8

• The Moon -12.6
• Venus (at brightest) - 4.4
• Sirius (brightest star) - 1.5
• Faintest naked eye star 6.0
• Faintest stars visible from a +25.0
large ground based telescope

Then for the apparent brightness ratio of Sun and Sirius we have

Sirius mn = -1.5 and Sun mm = -26.8

∴ Bsun = 10 0.4()−1.5+ 26.8 = 10 0.4 x25.4 = 1010.16 = 1.44 x1010 ≈ 10 x10 9 (ten billion)
Bsirius

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The Absolute Magnitude : The apparent magnitude does not give any idea about the
intrinsic brightness of a star, which is related to its internal energy production and the
effect of distance (which makes the brightness fall as the square of the distance).
Therefore a star which looks very bright could be so because it is closer (Sun) or fainter
because it far away but could be intrinsically very bright (Betelgeuse).

Therefore it is useful to have a system where we can compare the brightnesses of two
stars on the same footing. For this purpose astronomers define an absolute magnitude,
which is the apparent magnitude that a star would have if it were placed at a distance of
10 parsecs (32.6 light years) from the Earth. This can easily be done if we know the true
distance of the star. Let a star at a distance r has apparent mag and luminosity as m and l
and its absolute mag and luminosity as M and L. Since the brightness or luminosity of an
object are inversely proportional to the square of the distance we get :

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L =  r  = 10 0.4()m− M 0.4()
 r 
()n − m = 5 log r 
or m− M = 2 log  or
l  10   10   10 

or m –M = 5 log r – 5

A common convention is to use lower case ‘m’ to denote apparent magnitude and an
upper case ‘M’ to denote an absolute magnitude.

The quantity m – M, which depends only on the distance of the star, is called the distance
modulus.

The Apparent and Absolute Magnitudes of Some Stars

”
Star Constl. V B-V P Mv
Sun -26.75 +0.63 --- +4.82
Aldebran α Tauri +0.85 +1.54 0.054 -0.3
Capella α Auriga +0.08 +0.80 0.080 -0.4
Betelgeuse α Ori +0.50 +1.85 0.005 -7.2
Rigel α Ori +0.12 -0.03 0.013 -8.1
Sirius α CMa -1.46 0.00 0.378 +1.4
Canopus α Car -0.72 +0.15 0.028 -2.5

It may appear now that by introducing the absolute magnitudes, ambiguities about the
brightness of a star have been resolved. However it is not so because we know from
radiation laws that the brightness of a object depends on the wavelength at which it is
observed. Thus to be precise in discussing the brightness or the associated magnitudes,
we must specify which region of the electromagnetic spectrum our observing instrument
is sensitive.

We thus note that even at the very fundamental level the things are not that simple and
one has to take great care in making astronomical observations and has to apply
appropriate laws of physics to understand them.

20
Various Magnitude Systems

Visual System ( m v , M v ): Mag. based on naked eye estimates. As the eye is sensitive to
yellow light at about 5500A, these mag. correspond to brightness at this wave length.

Photographic System: (a) Photo visual ( mpv, Mpv ) corresponding to 5450A

(b) Phtographic ( mpg, Mpg ) corresponding to 4300A

Bolometric System ( m bol, M bol ): The mag. based on the radiations measured over the
entire electromagnetic spectrum are called bolometric magnitudes. However we know
that certain part of the electromagnetic radiation is blocked by the Earth’s atmosphere.
Also there is no detector which is equally sensitive to all wave lengths. Hence to obtain
bolometric mag. from any other mag, some correction has to be applied. In particular the
difference between the photovisual and bolometric mag of a star is called bolometric
correction (BC) i.e

BC = mbol – mpv = Mbol - Mpv

The BC for Sun is nearly -0.11.

Since the bolometric mag. are always brighter than photovisual mag., BC is always
negative.

Photoelectric Systems: These are based on the photoelectric observations through

predefined filters and detectors.

(a) Three color or UBV system : Ultra violet filter (U 3500A), Blue filter (B 4350A) and
Visual filter (V 5340A).

The difference B – V or U - B is called the colour index (C.I.) of the object and is a
measure of the colour (Temp.) of the star. The CI is negative for the hot stars and positive
for cooler stars. There is a close relationship between the B - V and the spectral type of
the star. Thus U, B, V mag system forms an important standard magnitude system.

(b) Six-color or uvbgrI system : Like three color system there is a six-colour system
u,v,b,g,r,I, where u = 3550A, v = 4200A, b = 4900A, g = 5700A,
r = 7200A, I1 = 10300A (later extended to I 2 = 21000A)

(c) Infrared System : R, I, J, K, L, M, N, where R = 0.70 µ, I = 0.90 µ,

J = 1.25 µ, K =2.2 µ, L = 3.4 µ, M = 5.0 µ, N = 10.2 µ

21
Atmospheric Extinction

The intensity of star light is reddened as it passes through the Earth’s atmosphere due to
scattering and absorption by air molecules and aerosols (dust particles, rain drops, ice
crystals etc). This extinction of star light increases with increasing zenith distance. We
have to take this effect into account to obtain the mag of star as it would be when
observed from outside the atmosphere.

Let I o be the intensity of radiation outside the atmosphere and I be the intensity near the
surface. Then

(a) for zenith angles not too large (z < 60 o) we can approximate the atmosphere by plane,
parallel, stratified layers in which all quantities like temp, pressure, absorption coeff
depend on height only. In this case we get :

I = I0 exp ( - α sec z ), where α depends on the extinction coeff and density.

(b) for large zenith angles (z > 60 o) the curvature of the atmosphere has to be taken into
account. In this case the sec z in the above formula gets replaced by X, which may be
taken as :

X = sec z – 0.0018167(sec z – 1) – 0.002878(sec z – 1) 2 – 0.0008083(sec z – 1)3

Therefore if m and m o are the mag. of a star at the surface and outside the atmosphere
respectively, then we have

m - mo = -2.5 log(I / Io) = -2.5 log [ exp.(-α X) ]

or m = mo + β X . The quantity β ( > 0) is called extinction coefficient.

The Black Body Radiation

The fundamental law governing black body radiation is the Planck’s law. All other laws
can be derived from this. The laws concerning black body radiation are given below :

(a) Planck’s law : It gives the specific intensity of radiation (the amount of energy
crossing a unit area of a surface perpendicular to the direction of propagation, per unit
time, per unit solid angle, per unit frequency) as a function of frequency or wavelength.
The relations are :

2hν 3 1 2hc2 1
Bν = . hν / kT or Bλ = . hc/ λkT
2
c e −1 λ5
e −1

22
Special cases of Planck’s law :

Wien’s law
: for h ν >> kT or h c >> λ kT , we have

2hν 3 − hν / kT 2hc2 − hc/ λkT

Bν = e or Bλ = e
c
2
λ5

which is valid for UV, X-ray and γ-ray regions of electromagnetic radiation.

Rayleigh-Jeans law
: for h ν << kT or h c << λ kT , we have by using ex~ 1 + x,
2kTν 2 2ckT
Bν = or Bλ = 4
c
2
λ

which is valid for far IR and radio regions.

(b) Stefan-Boltzmann law: It relates the total flux in all wavelengths to the temperature of
the body. Integrating the above equation over all frequencies we get :

FTotal = σ T4 , Where σ is the Stefan’s constant.

(c) Wien’s displacement law : If λ max is the wavelength at which B λ is maximum, we get
by differentiation :

λmax T = Constant
= 0.28975 ( if λmax is in cm and T is in oK )
= 2900 ( if λmax is in microns and T is in oK )

As λ max shifts to shorter wavelengths with increasing temperature, low temp

objects
would appear red and high temp ones would look blue.

Plots of Plank’s law for various temperatures is shown below.

23
From these we note that the Plank’s law indicates that the intensity of a black body
radiation increases in all wavelengths as the temp increases and according to Wien’s law
peak of intensity curve shifts towards the shorter wavelengths.

These properties of black body temp can be used in determining the temp of a black body
by fitting its energy curve with the theoretical curves.

Stars as Black bodies : A star is a self-luminous sphere of gas. Almost all stars show a
"continuum" spectrum with "absorption" lines.

Temperature of stars : We can apply the laws of black body radiation to the continuous
spectrum of a star and define the following temperatures.

(a) Effective Temp. T e : If we can observe the star’s radiation in all wavelengths in
absolute units, then the temp obtained is called the effective temp of the star.

(b) Color Temp. T c : If only a limited range of wavelengths can be observed, we can
compare the relative intensities or fluxes at various wavelengths (using Plank’s
relation) and determine the temp. This temp is called the color temp.

(c) Brightness Temp. T b : If the measurements are available only at one wavelength,
then the temp is called the brightness temp.

Also if we can locate λ max , then Wien’s law can give us some idea of the temp. For
example :

if λmax = 0.5 µ, then T = 6000o K (surface temp. of Sun )

if λmax = 10 µ, then T = 300o K (surface temp. of Earth)

if λmax = 1000 µ, then T = 3o K (CMBR temp. )

24
Stellar Distances

Following methods are used to determine distances of stars and other celestial objects. As
the distances involved are quite large most of the methods are indirect methods. They
may be classified as follows.

(a) Geometrical methods (i) Trigonometric parallax

(b) Luminosity method
(c) Dynamical Methods
(d) Other Methods
(ii) Cluster parallax
(iii) Secular parallax
(iv) Angular size
(i) Spectroscopic parallax
(ii) Period-Luminosity law
(iii) Brightest object
(i) Dynamical Parallax
(ii) Double star-spectroscopic
parallax
(i) Interstellar absorption
(ii) Galactic rotation
(iii) Red shift.
(iv) Wilson-Bappu Effect

We will discuss some of these methods.

The Trigonometric Parallax Method

It is like the surveyor’s method where the object’s position is measured from the two
ends of a baseline, then simple trigonometric relations give the distance to the object.

The distance to nearest star Sunfound by first measuring the parallax of the
has been
minor planet Eros (~76”), then the distance of the Sun from the Earth was found from the
Kepler’s third law. This gives a mean distance between Earth and the Sun as 1.496 x 10 8
km, which is called one astronomical Unit (AU).

For other stars trigonometric parallax is defined as the angle subtended by the mean
radius of the Earth’s orbit at the star.

25
Let ‘a’ be the radius of the Earth’s orbit and ‘d’ the distance to the star from the Sun, then
from the figure it is clear that we have :
tan p = a
d
or since p is very small (< 1”) we can write
"
p 206265a
p
rad
= = a or d = (in units of a)
206265 d p"
If ‘a’ is taken in AU then

206265 206265 3.26ly 1

d= AU = 1.496 x10 8 km= = pc
p" p" p" p"

The distance corresponding to p = 1” is called a parsec (pc).

We have: 1 ly = 2.99 x 10 5 x 3.16 x 107 = 9.460 x 1012 km

1 pc = 206265 AU = 3.086 x 10 13 km = 3.262 ly
1 Kpc = 1000 pc ; 1 Mpc = 1000 Kpc or 10 6 pc

parallaxes and corresponding distances of some of the nearer stars

Star Parallax in arc sec Distance in pc

α Centauri 0.756 1.32
α CMa (Sirius) 0.375 2.67
61 Cygni 0.299 3.34
α Aquila (Altair) 0.198 5.05
α Tauri (Aldebran) 0.048 20.8
α Virginis (Spica) 0.014 71
α Scorpii (Antares) 0.008 125

Trigonometric parallaxes are reliable for p > 0.”05 or up to 20 pc. For larger distances
other indirect methods have to be used.

Proper motion of stars : In the fig below the arrow shows the motion of the star in space.
The velocity with which the star moves in space w.r.t. Sun is called its space velocity.
The angle subtended at the sun is called the proper motion of the star and is denoted by µ.
The two components denoted by v r and vt are called the radial and transverse velocities.

26
If d is the distance of the star then we have :

µ"
sin µ = µ rad
= = vt ⇒ vt = d µ"
206265 d 206265

If vt is taken in km/sec, d in pc and µ in arc sec per year then we have :

206265 × 1.496 × 108

vt = µ" = 4.74µd
206265 × 3.156 × 107

[ 1 pc = 206265 AU, 1 AU = 1.496 x 10 8 km, 1 Yr = 3.156 x 10 7 sec ]

If we can now estimate vt then d can be found out. A first approximation could be that v t
can be taken equal to vr, which can be determined from the star’s spectra.

Cluster parallax : Some stars are found to be member of a group of stars. These groups
are called star clusters e.g. Pleides, Haydes etc.

In a cluster all stars move in the same direction and hence the velocities appear to
converge or diverge, as shown in the fig., from some point in space. From the positions of
this point and the star, the angle θ can be found. Then we have :
4.74 µd
tan ϑ = vt =
vr vr

vr tan ϑ
or d=
4.74 µ

Secular parallax : From the proper motion and radial velocities of stars it is found that the
Sun moves in space with a velocity of 19.4 km/sec. Thus the distance traveled by the Sun
in one year is 6.1 x 10 8 km or 4.09 AU. Therefore in one year we get a baseline 4 times
the radius of the Earth. By increasing the time interval, say 15-20 years, the base line can
be increased to 60 to 80 times of AU and hence we cam measure the distances of more
distant stars. Since we use statistical methods here, it is also called statistical parallax.

27
Angular size method : The angular size, ‘D’ and linear size ‘l’ of an object is related to its
distance, ‘d’ by the relation :
l
D" = × 206265
d

This method can be applied to star clusters, galaxies and cluster of galaxies if their linear
sizes could be estimated as D is approximately same for same type of objects.

Spectroscopic parallax : It is possible to estimate the absolute magnitude ‘M’ of a star

by examining its spectrum. Then since the apparent mag ‘m’ can easily be found, the
distance modulus (m-M) and hence the distance can be estimated.
Wilson-Bappu Effect : In 1957 Olin C. Wilson and M. K. Vainu Bappu reported on the
remarkable correlation between the measured width of the emission feature at the center
of the Ca II K line and the absolute visual magnitude of the star. This is known as the
Wilson-Bappu effect. The correlation is independent of spectral type and is applicable to
stars of type G, K, and M. Thus the absolute mag of a star can easily be found and hence
the distance modulus. Also this method is one of several methods used in the
Extragalactic Distance Scale determination.
.
Period Luminosity Law : Certain stars, Known as Cepheid Variables, show a periodic
change in brightness which show good correlation with their periods, in the sense that
longer the period brighter the star. This relationship has been calibrated with the help of
absolute luminosities of those variables whose distances could be estimated by some
other methods. Consequently by observing the light curve of a variable star in any distant
star system its absolute luminosity can be estimated with the help of the calibrated curve.
Then the distance modulus can be found from the observed apparent luminosity.

The absolute magnitudes of some the objects :

Cepheids : Mpg = - 2.4 to -5.8

Novae : Mpg = - 7.3
Super Novae Type I : Mpg = -12.9
Super Novae Type II : Mpg = -15.6

Measuring Stellar Sizes

In the case of our nearest star, the Sun, which shows a fairly large disc, the size (radius)
can be found from its angular diameter ‘D’ and distance ‘a’ from the relation :

R sun = a Drad / 2
R sun = ( D” / 2x206265 ) x a (in units of a)
= 1919”.26 x 1.496 x 108 km / (2x206265)
= 6.96 x 105 km = 109.2 Rearth

All other stars appear as points of light even in the most powerful telescopes. But a few
stars are close enough and large enough to allow us to measure their angular diameters by

28
interferometric technique. The interference pattern is produced by allowing the light of
the star to fall on two portions of a mirror or lenses separated by a distance. If D o is the
minimum distance when the fringes disappear and if β is the diameter of the star then we
have :

β = λ / 2 k Do , where k depends on the limb darkening coefficient.

So far a uniformly bright disc

β = 1.22 λ / Do

and for a limb darkened disc, like the Sun,

β = 1.43 λ / Do .

Then the linear diameter = β r = β” / π” AU = (214 β” / π” ) R sun

The radii measured for some stars by this method are :

Star β” π” R

α Tau – Aldebaran 0.020 0.048 48 Rsun

α Sco – Antares 0.028 0.016 187 Rsun
α Ori - Betelgeuse 0.034 0.017 214 Rsun

Hence, except for these very few close stars, we have to opt for indirect methods. One
such method is the use of Stefan-Boltzmann law.

L = ( 4 π R 2 ) x ( σ Te4 ),

where L is the total ( bolometric ) flux.

Eclipsing binaries, which are also double line spectroscopic binaries, enable us to
determine radii of stars. This we shall discuss later.

Mass and Radius of stars

It is found that the main sequence stars show a mass – luminosity relation
of the form :

3.5
L =  M 
 
Lsun  M sun 

and also a mass – radius relation

of the form:

29
 0.75
R =  M 
 
Rsun  M sun 

Now since L = 4 π R 2 σ Te4 , we have

1/ 4
L 
 
Te =  L sun
2/4
Te, sun  R 
 
 Rsun

0.5

or Te =  M 
 
Te,sun  M sun 

Masses are easily obtained in the case of binary stars.

The Spectra : The spectra produced by luminous sources are mainly of three types –
continuous, emission and absorption spectra.

(a) Continuous Spectrum : When the source is an incandescent solid, liquid or a

compressed gas, then radiation given out is a continuous emission in all wavelengths.

(b) Emission or Bright-line Spectrum : When the source is a gas under low pressure, the
radiation emitted is selective. The spectrum produced consists of discrete emission or
bright lines superposed on a faint continuous spectrum.

(c) Absorption or Dark-line Spectrum : If the actual source of emission is a hotter source
emitting radiation continuously and if it be viewed through a comparatively cooler gas,
then the latter may absorb some wavelengths of the incoming radiation of the actual
source (Kirchoff’s law). The spectrum thus produced consists of dark-lines or absorption
lines superposed on a background of continuous spectra.

30
Stellar classification

In the late 19th century astronomers categorized stars according to the strength of the
hydrogen absorption lines in the spectrum. They labeled these as A, B, C..etc. from
strongest to weakest.

However it was found that this does not represent the sequence of any physical
significance. During 1890-97 Pickering arranged the spectra of stars in a sequence which
th
corresponds to their temperatures. Miss Cannon (in late 19 century) classified over
5,00,000 stars in her career.

31
Ordered from highest temperature to lowest, the seven main spectral classes (Harvard
Type) are :

O – B - A- F – G - K – M

R-N

Blue yellow red

H. N. Russell’s students in Princeton invented the well known mnemonic for this series :
O Be A Fine Girl Kiss Me Right Now Sweetheart.

The spectra we see is produced by the hot surface called the photosphere. Despite having
absorption lines, the spectrum of a star is close to that of a blackbody. Therefore by
applying Planck's law we can estimate the temperature.

While the differences in spectra might seem to indicate different chemical compositions,
in almost all instances, it actually reflects different surface temperatures. With some
exceptions, material on the surface of stars is "primitive". There is no significant
chemical or nuclear processing in the outer gaseous envelope of a star once it has formed.
Fusion at the core of the star results in fundamental compositional changes, but material
does not generally mix between the visible surface of the star and its core.

The spectral classes R and N are now usually combined into the class C ( for Carbon stars).

Hot O, B, and A stars are often referred to as early spectral types, while cool stars (G, K,
and M) are known as late type stars. The nomenclature is rooted in long-obsolete ideas
about stellar evolution, but the terminology remains.

Between each of these letters a finer subdivision is indicated by a number 0 to 9

following the class. For example a B5 star is between B0 and A0 and has about equal
common features with each of these classes..

Luminosity classification : Stars in a particular range of spectral class can be sub divided
into the following luminosity classes :

I : supergiants – Ia (hypergiants), Ib (supergiants);

II : bright giants ;
III : giants ;
IV : subgiants
V : dwarfs (main sequence stars) ;
VI : subdwarfs

In this scheme the Sun’s spectral class is G2V.

32
 The chief spectral characteristics of each class are given below
Approximate
Type Color Surface Main Characteristics Examples
Temperature
Singly ionized helium lines
> 25,000 K
O Blue either in emission or absorption. 10 Lacertra
(50,000 K)
Strong ultraviolet continuum.
Neutral helium lines in Rigel
B Blue 11,000 - 25,000
absorption. Spica
Hydrogen lines at maximum
Sirius
A Blue 7,500 - 11,000 strength for A0 stars, decreasing
Vega
thereafter.
Blue to Metallic lines become Canopus
F 6,000 - 7,500
White noticeable. Procyon
Solar-type spectra. Absorption
White to lines of neutral metallic atoms Sun
G 5,000 - 6,000
Yellow and ions (e.g. once-ionized Capella
calcium) grow in strength.
Orange Metallic lines dominate. Weak Arcturus
K 3,500 - 5,000
to Red blue continuum. Aldebaran
Molecular bands of titanium Betelgeuse
M Red < 3,500
oxide noticeable. Antares
Strong CH, C2 bands, TiO
C-R : S Cam,
C Red 3000 missing, neutral metals as in K
C-N :R Lep
and M
Strong ZrO, Yo (yttrium oxide)
RR And, U
S Red 3000 ,LiO bands, neutral atomsas in k
cas
and M

Peculiar stellar spectra:

A small number of stars show peculiarities in their spectra and hence are known as
peculiar stars. The principal types of these stars are the following.

Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars : very hot stars (Temp. ~ 40,000), show broad emission lines
of C and N. The broading of lines is caused by the expansion of the extended envelope
with vel. ~ 500 – 1000 km/sec.

Be – Ae stars : emission lines of hydrogen, which arise due to extended gaseous

envelope which may be expanding or rotating.

B – F stars : wide shallow lines caused by rapid rotation.

33
Ap Stars : have abnormal and variable intensity of M n II, S i II, C r II, S r II etc. Large
scale mag. fields of varying strength.

Metallic line stars : A m and F m : have abnormally weak K line of Ca II. Hence relative
to spectral type corresponding to K line, the metal lines are stronger.

Weak line stars : show weak metal lines, in some CH bands are strong.

Carbon stars : R and N type in older HD classification, cool stars, have bands of C 2
and CN, carbon is overabundant.

S stars : cool giant stars but have bands of Z r O in addition to T i O. These stars are in
advanced stage of evolution.

T-Tauri Variables : found near nebulosities in Milky-Way. Show emission Lines of H

and other elements. Show irregular fluctuations of light. Identified as in the early
gravitational contraction phase.

Others : Novae, Supernovae, planetary nebulae, intrinsic variable stars.

The HR-Diagram

In 1911 Einar Hertzsprung plotted the luminosities against the colour index of stars in
clusters. He found that the distribution of stars on the plot is not random, but the stars
were concentrated in two well defined sequences. The one called the main sequence
stretched from upper left corner to lower right corner. The other one called the giant
sequence stretched in the upper right corner. The gap between the two sequences is
called the Hertzsprung gap.

The stars in the giant sequence having the same colour or spectrum as the dwarfs in
the main sequence would have the same temp. Hence their higher luminosity must be
attributed to their larger radii. This is the origin of the words giants and dwarfs.

In 1913 Henry Norris Russell, independently, plotted the luminosities against their
spectra for nearby stars for which trigonometric parallaxes were available. He was
also able to distinguish the two sequences of giants and dwarfs.

Therefore a diagram showing the luminosities or absolute magnitudes of stars against

their spectral class or colours is called the HR-diagram.

Traditionally these coordinates are arranged so that the temp increases to the left and
luminosity increases upwards.

34
 The HR-Diagram

A few stars fall above the giants in the HR-diagram, they are called super giants
and
another small number falling in the lower left corner are called white dwarfs.

The white dwarfs have very low luminosities in spite of having high temperatures,
which indicates that they must be very small in size. Their radii can easily be
calculated from the relation L = 4 π R 2 σ T e4, which shows that they are barely larger
than the Earth and have densities of the order of 10 2 to 103 kg/cm3.

The HR-diagrams are important for a number of reasons. One obvious reason is that
for a normal star a properly calibrated HR-diagram can provide absolute mag from its
colour and luminosity. Then the apparent mag combined with the absolute magcan
give the distance or parallax of the star. Parallaxes found in this way are called
spectroscopic parallaxes.

It is interesting to note that while a correlation between the observed features of a

spectrum and the temp, electron pressure and composition of a star is expected, but it
is also found to be related to the luminosity of the stars. But luminosity and effective
temp determine radius, so the radius of a star is also related to the appearance of the
spectrum.

(Range in R : 0.02 to 2000 Rsun and the range in M : > 0.1 to 50-100 Msun )

35
Spectral line formation

The presence of an element in a stellar atmosphere can be inferred from the wavelength
and relative intensities of the atomic and molecular lines of the element in its spectra.
However the relative abundances of elements can not be inferred from the relative
strengths of the lines. For example the predominance of helium lines in O and B stars
does not mean that they are mostly made up of helium. Similarly the presence of strong
metallic lines in F and G stars do not indicate that they have excess of metals.

The appearance of a line of an element in a particular state of ionization and excitation

depends upon the number of atoms in that particular state, which in turn depends upon
the physical conditions of temperature and pressure. Further the strength of the line does
not always depend linearly on the number of atoms responsible for producing the line.

The absorption lines in stellar spectra appear superposed on a continuous background.

Because of the extreme complexities of the general problem, the continuous radiation and
the lines are studied separately.

It is clear that the stars radiate like a black body is a fairly good approximation. However,
we know that it is not constant over the entire body of the star. Therefore a better
approximation would be to divide the star’s atmosphere into different layers and assume
that each of these layers radiates like a black body. The effective temp is now no longer
the temp of the atmosphere but it is some average over the layers of importance. This
approximation is known as Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (LTE). The LTE differs
from TE in that conditions change from one point to another.

The line absorption Coefficient

The line absorption is very sensitive to tiny changes in frequency, so the effects which
cause these changes increase considerably the range of frequencies over which line
absorption is appreciable. It is because of this broadening that the lines are not infinitely
narrow but have a finite width.

If temp increases with depth and if the material emits like a black body, then radiation at
frequencies, showing high absorption, is emitted on the average, in regions of low tem.
Thus less energy is emitted and absorption lines are the result.

According to this explanation the absorption lines are caused by large absorption of
radiation and by the inward increase in temp, without either of these two effects
absorption lines could not occur. The actual situation may be more complicated than this,
because line emission is less likely to be that of a black body than continuous emission.

36
The line source function

According to quantum theory, spectral lines are produced by transition between discrete
energy levels and the line frequency is given by ν = ∆E / h .

Let us denote the upper level by i and the lower by j, then the following transition
coefficients are defined:

(i) Einstein coefficient for spontaneous emission A ij : which gives the number of
spontaneous radiative transitions from level i to level j per atom in unit time in
unit solid angle.
(ii) Einstein coefficient for stimulated emission B ij : which gives the number of
stimulated or radiation induced transitions from level i to level j per level i in
unit time in unit solid angle per unit intensity of radiation of frequency
ν = (Ei – Ej) / h .
(iii) Einstein coefficient for absorption B ji : which gives the number of radiation
induced transitions from level j to level i per atom in level j in unit time in unit
solid angle per unit intensity of radiation of frequency ν = (E i – Ej) / h .
(iv) Collisional Transition coefficient a ij : which gives the number of collisional
transitions from level i to level j per atom in level i in unit time due to
collisions in unit solid angle.
(v) Collisional transition coefficient a ji : which gives the number of collisional
transitions from level j to level i per atom in level j in unit time due to
collisions in unit solid angle.

aij and aji depend on the electron density and kinetic temperature.

To understand the phenomenon fully one has to solve the equation of transfer for line
frequencies under some assumption of model of stellar atmosphere.

Boltzmann’s and Saha’s Equations

The Boltzmann Equation or Exitation equation

In any given physical situation, some of the atoms undergoing radiative and collisional
transitions between different levels and the number of atoms in a given level at any time
depend on how violent the conditions are.

It has long been known that if a system is in thermodynamic equilibrium, then classical
physics predicts that the probability that a particle in the system will have energy E is
proportional to e -E / kT (e - hv / kT ) where k is the Boltzmann constant and T is the Temp. As
the temp increases, the density of high energy photons gets larger consequently the
frequency of high energy collisions also increases and so the higher energy levels become
more frequently populated.

37
The same exponential dependence of energy is valid for quantum mechanical systems
with an important modification i.e. in this case the probability that an atom has energy E
is proportional g(E) e -E / kT , where g(E) is the statistical weight of energy level E. If E is
not one of the allowed energy levels then g(E) = 0, and no particle can have that
particular energy.

If N r is the number of atoms in the r th excited state and N 1 is the number of atoms in the
ground state , gr and g1 are the statistical weights of these levels, then we have :

Nr = gr − Er / kT (1)
e
N1 g1

where Er is excess energy of level r over that of ground state. It is known as the excitation
potential of level r (in eV).

If N is the total number of atoms in ionization state r, then

∞
N1 = N1 B(T )
N = ∑ Nr = ∑g e
− Erj / kT
rj
g1 j =1 g1

B(T) is called the partition function.

In terms of the partition function, we have :

Nr = gr − Er / kT (2)
e
N B(T )

In logarithmic form this becomes :

log Nr = log gr − E r log10 e

N B(T ) kT

5040
= log gr − Er (3)
B(T ) T

= log gr + θEr , wher θ = -(5040/T)

B(T )

(k=1.38054 x 10-16 erg / oK = 0.86171 x 10-4 eV / oK ; 1/k = 11605;

1 eV = 1.60210 x 10-12 erg ; log10e = 0.43429 ; log10e / k = 5039.944 ≈ 5040 )

38
These equations (1), (2) or (3) are different forms of the same equation, called the
Boltzmann’s or exitation equation. The eqn. gives distribution of atoms in various excited
states.

We see that the population of various states decreases exponentially with increasing
energy Er and increases with increasing temp.

The Saha Equation Or Ionization equation

If eqn. (1) is applied to levels in two successive stages of ionization and if the result is
summed over all of the excited levels of both ionization stages, then we obtain :

3/ 2
Ni +1 Ne = 2 2πmkT Bi +1 I i / KT (4)
2 e
Ni  h  Bi

Where Ni and N i+1 are the number of atoms per unit volume in two successive stages of
ionization, Ne is the electron density (number of electrons per unit volume) , B i and B i+1
are partition functions and Ii is ionization potential of the ith ionization stage.

This is the Saha or the ionization equation. It gives the ratio of the number of atoms in
two successive stages of ionization.

By substituting the numerical values of the constants in (4) and taking the logarithm, we
get :

  2  5040
log Ni +1 Ne  = 15.38 + log Bi +1  + 1.5 log T − Ii
 Ni   Bi  T

where T is in Kelvin, I in eV and Ne in particles per cm3.

An alternative form is obtained by introducing the electron pressure Pe = Ne K T. In this

case we have :

  2  5040
log Ni +1 Pe  = −0.48 + log Bi +1  + 2.5 log T − Ii
 Ni   Bi  T

We see that the degree of ionization increases with increasing temp and decreases
exponentially with increasing ionization potential.

The Bohr or quantum mechanic theory can be used to determine what lines an atom can
absorb or emit. The Boltzmann and Saha equations then can be used to determine what
percentage of atoms can do this absorbing or emitting as a function of physical conditions
in the source. This makes it possible to determine both the chemical composition and the
physical conditions which exist in the source where given lines are observed.

39
Explanation of stellar spectra on the basis of Saha and Boltzmann equations

In the coolest stars (M,S and C) we expect to see the molecular lines of TiO, ZrO and C2,
which have very low excitation potential. The resonance lines of neutral metals like Na I,
K I, Ca I arising from ground state (Er = 0) are also strong in them, while lines of Ca II
and Fe I are quite weak.

As the temp. increases, molecules dissociate and metals with low ionization potential,
like K (4.32 eV), Na (5.12 eV) and Ca (6.09 eV) get ionized. Hence the molecular bands
and neutral atomic resonance lines become weaker as we go from M To K spectral types,
on the other hand H and K lines of Ca II and lines of Fe I having excitation potential of a
few eV become stronger.

As we go from K to G there is further increase in temp. As a result calcium starts

becoming doubly ionized (Er = 11.87 eV) and H and K lines become slowly weaker.

From G to F the increase in temp causes the metals like Fe (Er = 7.86 eV) get ionized and
their ionic lines become stronger and neutral lines become weaker.

From F to A the further increase in temp lets elements with higher and higher ionization
potential to get ionized e.g. lines of Si II, Mg II etc appear in their spectra.

From A to B we get lines of He I, Si III, O II etc.

From B to O we get He II, Si IV, C III etc.

Thus progressively higher state of ionization with increasing temp explains the behaviour
of lines in different spectral classes as we go from coolest to hottest stars.

Binary Stars

A binary star is a star system consisting of two stars bound by their mutual gravitational
attraction and orbiting around their common centre of mass. For each star, the other is its
companion star. It is found that a large percentage of stars are part of systems with at
least two stars. Binary star systems are very important in astrophysics because they yield
vital information about masses and radii of stars, provide inputs for the theories of the
origin and evolution of stars and also enable to test the theories of stellar structure and
stellar atmospheres. The masses of many single stars can then be determined by
extrapolations made from the masses of binaries. Binaries containing compact objects
like white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes can be used to verify the relativity
theory.

Systems consisting of more than two components, known as multiple stars, are also not
uncommon.

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There are three types of binaries, which arise mainly from the method of observation,
viz., visual, spectroscopic and eclipsing binaries.

Examples of binaries are : α Gem (Castor, a visual binary), ζ UMa (Mizar, a

spectroscopic binary), β Per (Algol, an eclipsing binary), Sirius, and Cygnus X-1 (of
which one member is probably a black hole).

Here one has to distinguish between a physical pair and an optical pair which are stars
that happen to be in close line of sight.

Both stars of a binary move in elliptical orbits around their common centre of mass
defined by the following orbital elements.

The semi-major axis Letathe

: primary (more massive of the two) has a mass m 1 and
semi-major axis a 1 and the secondary (less massive) has a mass m 2 and semi major axis
a2. Then these are related by:

m 1 a1 = m2 a2

The semi-major axis of the relative orbit will be a = a1 + a2

: itehas same value for both orbits and gives the semi-minor axis
Eccentricity

b = a (1- e2 )1/2.

Node Ω : the point at which the orbital plane crosses the sky plane

: thei angle between the plane of the orbit and the plane of the sky.
The inclination

Longitude of periastron : the point

ω of closest approach. If it is ω1 for the primary then
that for the secondary it is ω2 = ω1 + 180o.

Time of periastron passage

T or T
ω.

Period :PThe orbital period P is related to the sum of the masses by the Kepler’s eqn.

3
a = G () +
m1 m2
P
2
4π 2

Visual binaries

A visual binary is a binary star for which the angular separation between the two
components is large enough to permit them to be observed as a double star in a telescope.
The brighter star of a visual binary is taken as the primary star, and the dimmer is
considered the secondary . If the stars are of the same brightness, the discoverer
designation for the primary is customarily accepted.

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Now over 50,000 visual binaries have been catalogued. There periods range from 5-10
years to thousands of years. Therefore several generations of astronomers are needed for
observing their complete orbits.

The apparent orbit of the fainter component around the brighter one is observed by
measuring the separation (in sec of arc) and the position angle (in deg). If this data is
plotted the result should be an ellipse. However, in general this is not the case, since the
orbital plane subtends an angle i with the celestial plane. This angle can be determined by
requiring that the orbit satisfies the Kepler’s laws.

Now if P is the orbital period in years and a is the semi-major axis in AU then the sum of
the masses of the components is given by :

M1 + M 2 = a
3

2
M sun P

In addition if the semi-major axes a 1 and a 2 of the two around their common centre of
mass can be determined, then we have a 1 / a 2 = M 2 / M 1 and a = a 1 + a 2. From these
individual masses M1 and M2 can be computed.

Spectroscopic binaries

In this case the pair is not resolved in the telescope and appears as a single star, but the
presence of a component is manifested by the periodic shifts of its spectral lines due to
Doppler effect. In these systems, the separation between the stars is usually very small,
and the orbital velocity very high. Unless the plane of the orbit happens to be
perpendicular to the line of sight, the orbital velocities will have components in the line
of sight and the observed radial velocity of the system will vary periodically. Since radial
velocity is measured with a spectrometer by observing the Doppler shift of the stars'
spectral lines, the binaries detected in this manner are known asspectroscopic binaries .

In some spectroscopic binaries, spectral lines from both stars are visible and the lines are
alternately double and single. Such a system is known as a double-lined spectroscopic
binary(often denoted "SB2"). In other systems, the spectrum of only one of the stars is
seen and the lines in the spectrum shift periodically towards the blue, then towards red
and back again. Such stars are known as single-lined spectroscopic ("SB1"). binaries

The orbit of a spectroscopic binary is determined by making a long series of observations

of the radial velocity of one or both components of the system. The observations are
plotted against time, and from the resulting curve a period is determined. If the orbit is
circular then the curve will be a sine curve. If the orbit is elliptical, the shape of the curve
will depend on the eccentricity of the ellipse and the orientation of the major axis with
reference to the line of sight. The mass ratios of the components can be obtained by a
lengthy method.

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Eclipsing binaries
o
If the orbital inclination of a spectroscopic binary is close to 90 then eclipses become
visible and the system is called an eclipsing binary.

An eclipsing binary showing the variation in intensity.

In the case where the binary is also a spectroscopic binary and the parallax of the system
is known, then the system becomes quite valuable for stellar analysis. Algol is the best-
known example of an eclipsing binary.

The light curve of an eclipsing binary is characterized by periods of practically constant

light, with periodic drop in intensity. If one of the stars is larger than the other, one will
be obscured completely by the other and a total eclipse type event occurs. In the other
half period the secondary will produce an annular eclipse type event.

In the case of eclipsing binaries, we have to take into account the following additional
parameters.

(1) The mean radii R1 and R2 of the two stars, which are normally expressed in unit of a.

(2) Mutual tidal action

of the close companions changes their shapes from spheres to
ellipsoids.

(3) L1 and L2, the fractional luminosities of the two stars, so that L1 + L2 = 1.

(4) Stars usually show a decrease in brightness from the centre of the disc towards the
limb, called the limb darkening . It is given by the limb darkening coefficients x 1 and x 2
for the two stars. These coefficients depend on surface temp or spectral types.

(5) Since stars are flattened at the poles the increased gravity at the poles makes them
brighter w.r.t their equator. This has to be taken into account by gravity brightening
coefficients y1 and y2.

(6) The light of each star is absorbed and re-emitted by the other. This makes their facing
hemispheres hotter w.r.t. the outer hemisphere. This is known as reflection effect , and
has to be taken into account by appropriate reflection coefficients.

We see that the light curves of eclipsing binaries are affected by many more factors than
those affecting the radial velocity curves of spectroscopic binaries or the simple angular

43
motion of visual binaries. Hence it is easier to drive the elements of visual or
spectroscopic binaries.

The period of the orbit of an eclipsing binary may be determined from a study of the light
curve, and the relative sizes of the individual stars can be determined in terms of the
radius of the orbit by observing how quickly the brightness changes as the disc of the
near star slides over the disc of the distant star. If it is also a spectroscopic binary the
orbital elements can also be determined, and the masses of the stars can be determined
relatively easily, which means that in this case the relative densities of the stars can also
be determined.

Astrometric Binaries

Astronomers have discovered some stars that seemingly orbit around an empty space.
These are called Astrometric Binaries, which are relatively nearby stars that can be seen
to wobble around a point in space, with no visible companion. The same mathematics
used for ordinary binaries can be applied to infer the mass of the missing companion. The
companion could be very dim, so that it is currently undetectable or masked by the glare
of its primary, or it could be an object that emits little or no electromagnetic radiation, for
example a neutron star.

44