A star explosion which increases the stars luminosity

When it occurs the luminosity increases up to , times within a matter of hours and remains at that level for days or weeks before returning slowly to its old level. Supernovas have a similar appearance, but the increase in luminosity is millions or billions of its level before the explosion. A supernova explosion is the end of the star. It often throws huge amounts of matter equivalent to several suns into space with such a force that the during its existence the supernova outshines its home galaxy completely.

Stars shine through the release of energy from nuclear fusion. When a massive star of a mass equivalent to at least eight suns has converted all lighter elements into heavier and heavier elements there comes a point when the nuclear process no longer produces but absorbs energy.

The heavy elements then begin to be pulled inward under the star's gravity, and its core is compressed into a solid, rapidly spinning mass of neutrons. Its mass is so dense that on Earth an amount the size of a sugar cube would weigh billions of tons. As more material falls towards the solid core it rebounds and produces a shock wave, which blows away the star's atmosphere.

As a result space is bombarded by heavy metals, X-radiation and cosmic rays. Seven supernovas were observed before ; they were seen in BC, AD, , , , and Kepler's star. Since then improved astronomical instrumentation has allowed scientist to record hundreds of supernovas.

The closest of these was observed on 24 February in the Large Magellanic Cloud at a distance of about 50, parsecs from Earth. The last to be seen was Kepler's star in I read on Wikipedia that O-type stars can be a milllion times brighter than our Sun.

There are millions of stars that fit that description. On the Main Sequence a star needs a spectrum of type A to be around degrees, and 1 to 20 times the luminosity of the Sun means an absolute magnitude in the range 1. For example Sirius. The luminosity of stars varies quite a bit. Any of various very large bright stars, such as Betelgeuse, having a luminosity that is thousands of times greater than that of our sun.

Supergiants are the most massive stars, occupy the top region of Hertzsprung-russell diagram. Supergiants can have 10 to 70 solar masses and luminosity up to hundreds of thousands times the solar luminosity and because of their large masses they have lifespan of few million years and may be less than this value. Betelgeuse has about , times the luminosity of our sun or about 5.

Assuming main sequence stars - the temperature would be about 15, Kelvin. Alnitak is a very interesting star, because it is not one, but three stars. The main star, Alnitak Aa, with a luminosity times that of the Sun is orbited at 11 Astronomical Units roughly the distance at which Saturn orbits the Sun by Alnitak Ab, with a luminosity of times that of the Sun. This binary star system is orbited at AUs roughly the distance of the inner Ort Cloud from the Sun by Alnitak B, whose luminosity is roughly times that of the Sun.

The main star in the Polaris system has a luminosity which is times that of the Sun. The total size of the explosion. Imagine our Sun but 20 times bigger - now imagine all of that object being flung into space in one second.

That is why it is so luminous. While distance does affect brightness, the answer to the question is neither yes nor no, as the luminosity of stars varies over a very large range, from stars that emit very little visible light, or, for that matter, energy, to stars which emit thousands of times as much light as our somewhat average Sun.

Alpha Centauri is as luminosity is 1. The luminosity of this star is times the solar luminosity. Arcturus star is the brightest star in the constellation Bootes and fourth brightest star in he night sky. There was increases of states so more stars were made. Polaris is about 46 times the size of the sun and times the luminosity.

Polaris is also called the North Star. It really depends on the units used. Sometimes the Sun is used as a comparison for the brightness of other stars, or even galaxies - in this case, the Sun's luminosity is arbitrarily defined as 1, and a star that is 10 times brighter will have luminosity 10, for example. However, if you use other units, for example watts, you get quite different numbers 3.

A star that is twice as bright but four times further away will seem to have half the luminosity. There are stars much much brighter than the sun but because the sun is so close it appears much brighter.

Pollux is an orange giant star located about 34 light years from earth. It would no doubt have been used to help form the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, showing temperatures of stars vs. Its temperature is around Kelvin and it has a luminosity of 32 times that of our own sun.

Log in. Planetary Science. Study now. See Answer. Best Answer. A Supernova. See related question. Study guides. Astronomy 20 cards. How long does it take for the solar system to make one orbit around the Milky Way galactic center. What layer of the sun moves heat from the radiative layer to the photosphere. Which of these determines the intensity of a volcano. During earthquakes which type of fault results when one plate is compressed up onto another plate.

Stars 20 cards. What do you call a neutron star that emits radio waves. How has the Doppler effect has helped astronomers. A star is said to be born when. The most obvious difference between the terrestrial and the jovian planets is.

Planetary Science 20 cards. Which planet experiences the widest range of temperatures. The sun produces energy from matter in its core through the process of.