An exoplanet discovery mission measures the total power output (luminosity) of a…
PHYSICS · Multi-part · CBSE · Physics · Thermal Properties of Matter · Thermal Properties of Matter
Problem
An exoplanet discovery mission measures the total power output (luminosity) of a Sun-like star in a distant system to be 3.5×1027W. Spectroscopic data indicate an effective surface temperature of 5.5×103K. Treat the star as an ideal thermal radiator.
(a) Calculate the radius of the star in meters.
(b) Express the result from part (a) as a multiple of the Sun’s radius R⊙=6.96×108m. Comment briefly on how the size of this star compares to that of the Sun.