Introduction to Stars

Fazeel Mahmood Khan

IST Islamabad
 Solar System Formation

ALMA image of the protoplanetary disc around HL Tauri

Solar System
The Solar Composition
Energy Production in the Sun/Star
Star Factories: Nuclear Fusion and the
Creation of the Elements
 Stellar Distances

Astronomers use an effect called parallax to measure distances to nearby stars.

Parallax is the apparent displacement of an object because of a change in the
observer's point of view.
 Stellar Distances

Proxima Centauri claims the honor of being our true nearest neighbor at only
4.24 light years away.
Stellar Parallax
 BLACKBODY RADIATION

Betelguese

Rigel
 BLACKBODY RADIATION

Betelguese

3600K

Rigel

13,000 K
Wien‘s Displacement Law
Josef Stefan (1835 1893) in 1879 showed that the luminosity, L, of
a blackbody of area A and temperature T (in kelvins) is given by
Josef Stefan (1835 1893) in 1879 showed that the luminosity, L, of
a blackbody of area A and temperature T (in kelvins) is given by
Josef Stefan (1835 1893) in 1879 showed that the luminosity, L, of
a blackbody of area A and temperature T (in kelvins) is given by
Stellar Surface Temperature
Stellar Masses
Stellar Masses
Mass and Luminosity Ranges of Stars
Stars – number/mass distributions
Stars – number/mass distributions

Solar
Solar
Neighborh
Neighborh
ood
oodisis
dominated
dominated
by
bystars
stars
with
with
masses
masses
lower
lowerthan
than
our
ourSun
Sun

Image credit:
A. Riedel and the
RECONS
group, P.I. Todd J. Henry
 Stars – Hydrostatic Equilibrium

Inward
InwardGravitational
GravitationalForce
Forceis
isBalanced
Balancedby
by
(outward)
(outward)pressure
pressuregradient
gradient