Universal objects

• Stars

• Galaxies

• Black holes

• Neutron stars

• Nebulae

• Planets

• Terrestrial

• Gas giants

• Asteroids

• Dwarf planets

• Moons

• Comets

Solar system
Size Distance from sun

Jupiter Mercury

Saturn Venus

Uranus Earth

Neptune Mars

Earth Jupiter

Venus Saturn

Mars Uranus

Mercury Neptune

Pluto Pluto

Astronomical distances
Lightyear (ly) - distance travelled by an object at the speed of light in one year

- 9.46 × 1015 m

Astronomical unit (AU ) - average distance between the sun and earth

- 1.5 × 1011 m = 8ly

Parsec ( pc) - most commonly used unit of distance

- 3.26ly = 3.09 × 1016

Nature of stars
The stability of a star depends on the balance between two opposing forces: radiation pressure &
gravity. Radiation pressure is created by the fusion process which provides the energy needed for
the star to keep hot, thereby providing the radiation pressure.

Stellar parallax
Used to derive the distance between two objects in space

Through a pi radians rotation around the sun the earth is 2AU from where it was originally.

As parallax is from a change in distance of 1AU, the distance observed must be halved to nd the
parallax shift.

The parallax shift can be measured in angle form (arc seconds = 1/3600 degree)

This can be used to work out the distance between the observer and the object using the
1
equation : d( parsec) =

p(arcsecond )

The relationship between luminosity & apparent brightness

Luminosity : the total power radiated by a star in all directions, measured in Watts

The apparent brightness of a star depends on the stars luminosity and its distance from earth

L
b=

4πd 2
Where, b = apparent brightness

L = luminosity

d = distance

fi
Black body radiation and stars
Stephan-Boltzmann law L = σAT 4

Where L = luminosity

A = surface area of the star

T = temperature

σ = Stephan-Boltzmann