Chapter -02

Stars
DR. MD. KHORSHED ALAM
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR; UNIVERSITY OF BARISHAL.
 Stars
Star is a massive, luminous ball of plasma held together by its own
Gravity.
A star shines due to thermonuclear fusion of Hydrogen in its core
releasing energy that transverse the interior and then radiates into
outer space. The nearest star to earth is sun which is the source of most
energy on the earth. The light of Sun takes 8 minutes to reach Earth.
Stars play a crucial role in the universe's structure and evolution,
influencing the formation of planets, the distribution of elements, and the
development of galaxies.
Astronomers can determine the mass, age, chemical composition and
many other properties of a star by observing its spectrum, luminosity and
motion through space. Hertzsprung - Russell (H-R) diagram (a plot
temperature of many stars vs. luminosity) allows us to calculate the age
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
and evolutionary state of a star.
 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STAR AND PLANET:
STAR PLANET

01 Star is huge collection of Planet is a celestial body that orbits

plasma and gases those are around a star.
together by Gravity.
02 Star gives us an enormous It has an own field of gravity holding
quantity of energy because of together that is not strong enough to
the thermonuclear fusion that produce thermonuclear fusion.
is taking place on its core.
03 Star has its own light. No light of its own. It shines by
reflecting the lights of the Sun.
04 Stars twinkle at night. Planets do not twinkle at night

05 Since the stars are very far Most planets are near enough to the
away, the telescope can only earth to be magnified by the
make them look brighter but Telescope.
not larger.
06 There are billions of stars in the There are nine planets in our solar
celestial sphere. system.
Properties of Stars:

Brightness:
Two characteristics define brightness such as luminosity and magnitude. Luminosity is the
amount of light that a star radiates per sec. The size of the star and its surface temperature
determine its luminosity. Apparent magnitude of a star is its perceived brightness, factoring in size
and distance, while absolute magnitude is its true brightness irrespective of its distance from earth.
Color:
A star's color depends on its surface temperature. Cooler stars tend to be redder in color, while
hotter stars have a bluer appearance. Stars in the mid ranges are white or yellow, such as our sun.
Stars can also blend colors, such as red-orange stars or blue-white stars.
Surface Temperature:
Astronomers measure a star's temperature on the Kelvin scale. Zero degree on the Kelvin scale is
theoretically absolute and is equal to degrees Celsius. The coolest, reddest stars are approximately 2,500
K, while the hottest stars can reach 50,000 K. Our sun is about 5,500 K.
Size:
Astronomers measure the size of a given star in terms of our own sun's radius. Thus, a star that measure
one solar radius would be the same size as our sun. The star Rigel, which is much larger than our sun,
measures 78 solar radii. A star's size, along with its surface temperature, will determine its luminosity.
Mass:
A star's mass is also measured in terms of our own sun, with 1 equal to the size of our sun. For example,
Rigel which is much larger than our sun, has a mass of 3.5 solar masses. Two stars of a similar size may
not necessarily have the same mass, as stars can vary greatly in density.
Formation of Stars:
Stars form inside relatively denser concentrations of interstellar gas
and dust known as molecular clouds. These regions are extremely
cold (temperature about to just above absolute zero). At these
temperatures, gases become molecular meaning that atoms bind
together. and are the most common molecules in interstellar gas
clouds. The deep cold also causes the gas to clump to high densities.
When the density reaches a certain point, stars form.

Since the regions are dense, they are opaque to visible light and are
known as dark nebula. They don't shine by optical light, so IR and
radio telescopes are used to investigate them.
Star formation begins when the denser parts of the cloud core collapse under their own weight/gravity. These
cores typically have masses around 10 solar masses in the form of gas and dust. The cores are denser than
the outer cloud, so they collapse first. As the cores collapse they fragment into clumps around 0.1 parsecs in
size and 10 to 50 solar masses in mass. These clumps then form into Prostar's and the whole process takes
about 10 millions years.
During the initial collapse, the clump is transparent to radiation and the collapse proceeds fairly quickly. As
the clump becomes denser, it becomes opaque. Escaping IR radiation is trapped, and the temperature and
pressure in the center begin to increase. At some point, the pressure stops the infall of more gas into the core
and the object becomes stable as a Prostar. The Prostar, at first, only has about 1% of its final mass. But the
envelope of the star continues to grow as infalling material is accreted. After a few million years,
thermonuclear fusion begins in its core, and then a strong stellar wind is produced which stops the infall of
new mass. The prostar is now considered a young star since its mass is fixed, and its future evolution is now
set. It is now a main sequence star and it will remain until it begins through all its fuel
The life cycle of a star:

Life Cycle of a Star

Giant Gas Cloud (Nebula)
A star originates from a large cloud of gas. The temperature in the cloud is low enough for the synthesis of
molecules. The Orion cloud complex in the Orion system is an example of a star in this stage of life.
Protostar
When the gas particles in the molecular cloud run into each other, heat energy is produced. This results in
the formation of a warm clump of molecules referred to as the Protostar. The creation of Protostars can be
seen through infrared vision as the Protostars are warmer than other materials in the molecular cloud.
Several Protostars can be formed in one cloud, depending on the size of the molecular cloud.

Main Sequence
The main sequence phase is the stage in development where the core temperature reaches the point for the
fusion to commence. In this process, the protons of hydrogen are converted into atoms of helium. This
reaction is exothermic; it gives off more heat than it requires and so the core of a main-sequence star
releases a tremendous amount of energy.
Red Giant or Red Supergiant
After the star exhausts the hydrogen in its core, it leaves the main sequence. For medium to low mass
stars (like our Sun), they expand into red giants. In higher mass stars, they become red supergiants.
During this phase, the star begins to fuse helium into heavier elements like carbon and oxygen.

White Dwarf: A white dwarf is the hot core of a former star that has no more nuclear fuel and is in
its final stages of cooling.
Neutron Star: A neutron star, often the result of a supernova explosion, is an incredibly dense
object made mostly of neutrons.
Black Hole: If the core remaining after a supernova is sufficiently massive, gravity will cause it to
collapse into a black hole, an object with gravity so strong that not even light can escape from it.
Concept of the black hole: [Collect form Fundamental Astronomy Book]
If the mass of a star exceeds Mo and if it does not lose mass during its
evolution it does not lose mass during its evolution it can no longer reach any
stable final state. The force of gravity will dominate over all other force and
the star will collapse to a black hole.
A black hole is black because not even light can escape from it. The black hole
properties can measured by the help of critical radius Rs.
, Here M= mass of object ,C= light velocity , G= gravitational
constant.
The radius of smallest black hole of about 5-10 km. The properties of black
holes to be established on the basis of the general theory of relativity.
A black hole is surrounded by a spherical event horizon. An event horizon is a
surface through which no information can be sent out, even in principle. An
observer falling into a black hole reaches the Centre in a finite time according
to his own clock and does not notice anything special as he passes through the
event horizon, his velocity of fall seems to decrease to zero as he approaches
the horizon. The rotating black hole surrounded by a flattened surface inside
no matter can remain stationary. This part is called Ergosphere.
A black hole have this observable properties mass, electric charge and angular momentum. Many
active phenomena in the nuclei of galaxy can be explained with the supermassive black holes with
masses of millions or thousands of millions solar masses.

Math-01: A star has a mass of 4 Mo. If the star transforms into a black hole, What will be the
Schwarzschild radius? (Mass of Sun

Solution :
We know,

Schwarzschild radius,
Math-02: [Collect form Fundamental Astronomy Book]
What should be the radius of the sun if the escape velocity from the surface were to exceed
the speed of light?
Solution:
Concept of White Dwarf: [Collect form Fundamental Astronomy Book]

A white dwarf is the hot core of a former star that has no more nuclear fuel
and is in its final stages of cooling. In ordinary stars the pressure of the gas
obeys the equation of state of an ideal gas. The gas is fully ionized create
plasma consisting of ions and free electrons. The partial pressure of the
ions and electrons together with the radiation pressure important in hot
stars comprise the total pressure balancing gravitation. When the star runs
out of its nuclear fuel, the density of the interior increases ,but the
temperature does not change much. The electrons become degenerate, the
pressure of degenerate electron gas, pressure of ions and radiation
negligible. At this stage the ordinary star becomes a white draft. The radius
of the degenerate star is inversely proportional to the cubic root of mass it
behave unlike a normal star.
The first white dwarf is Seirus B whose effective temperature is very
high. The mass of Seirus B equal to the sun density will be had to
extremely large. White dwarf occurs both single star and binary
systems. Their spectral lines are boarded by strong gravitational field
at the surface and strong magnetic field also been observed. White
dwarf have no internal source of energy, but further gravitational
construction is prevented by the pressure of the degenerate electron
gas. Radiating away the remaining heat , white dwarf will slowly
cool, changing in color white to red finally to black. The cooling is
comparable to age of universe and even oldest white dwarf to be
observable. The faintest white dwarfs has been used as a way to set a
lower limit on the age of the universe.
 Concept of Neutron Star: [Collect form Fundamental Astronomy Book]

A neutron star, often the result of a supernova explosion, is an incredibly dense object
made mostly of neutrons. The equation of a classical degenerate electron gas then has
to be replaced with the corresponding relativistic formula. In this case decreasing the
radius of the star no longer helps in resisting the gravitational attraction. The value of
the Chandrasekhar mass is about Mo , which is thus the upper limit to the mass of a
white dwarf . If the mass of star is larger than gravity overwhelms the pressure
and the star will rapidly contract towards higher densities. The final stable state
reached after this collapse will be a neutron star. If the mass of the collapsing core is
larger than the Chandrasekhar mass( ) the collapse continue to a neutron
star. The typical diameter of neutron stars are about 10km. Unlike ordinary star have a
well defined solid surface 10 / m³. most of the neutron as the superfluid in the
center where the density exceeds 10 kg / m³ create hyperons and quark matter.
The initial magnetic field of the neutron star will
also be compressed in the collapse, so that their
will be a strong field coupling the star to the
surrounding material. The angular momentum of
the neutron star is steadily decreased by the
emission of electromagnetic radiation, neutrinos,
cosmic ray particles and possibly gravitational
radiation. Angular velocity decrease the rotation
can also break the star into several separate objects.
They eventually recombine when the energy of the
system is reduced and create a binary neutron star.
Relation between Brightness of two Stars:
 Stellar Parallax:
Parallax is an angular displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two
different lines of side. If two photographs are taken of the same part of a star, then it will be observed that
the star was not exactly in the same place in two photographs. This apparent shift in the position of the star
is called parallax. The angular distance from the sun to earth is equal to stellar parallax.

We know ,

Where , d = distance
p = parallax angle ( unit is Arc sec)

Math 03: A star has a parallax angle of 0.7323 arc sec. What is the distance to the star?
Apparent Brightness Apparent Magnitude:
The brightness of a star that appears to us with naked eyes is called apparent brightness of the star. This brightness
depends on the actual brightness and the distance of the star from us.
The magnitude based on the apparent brightness is called the apparent magnitude. It is denoted by m.
 Math 04:
[Collect from Fundamental
astronomy book ]
Math 05:
Math-06:
Construction of the Sun:
The inner layers are the core, radiative zone and convection zone. The outer layers are the photospheres, the
chromospheres and corona. These zones may be characterized by their range of temperature and density and
also by the mode of energy transparent through them.

Core: The sun's energy generated deep within its core by one of the powerful nuclear fusion process.
Hydrogen nuclei smash together forming helium and releasing huge amount of energy. That's why a star
shines. It burns its fuel through nuclear fusion.

The core is the only part of the sum that produces an appreciable amount of
heat through fusion. In fact 99% of the energy produced by the sun takes
place within 24% of the radius by 30% of radius fusion has stopped
almost entirely. The rest of the sun is heated by the energy that is
transferred from the core through the successive layers, eventually reaching
the solar photosphere and escaping into space as sunlight.
Radiative and Convective Zones: In the radiative zone closest to the core, the gas is smooth and static and
the energy diffuses through it as radiation. Above this layer is the convective zone, where swirling currents
of gas carry the sun's energy outward in a process called convection. Gas is simultaneously heated from
below by fusion and cooled from above as energy is released into space.

Photosphere, Chromospheres and Corona: The photosphere is the sun's visible surface, where the
atmosphere of the sun becomes transparent to visible light. The chromospheres and corona are the outermost
layers of the sun. The chromosphere is ten times hotter than the photosphere. But the corona is still hotter a
million degrees so that it escapes the gravity and flows out into space as solar wind.
Source of energy of the sun:
The primary source of energy for the Sun, like other main sequence stars, is nuclear fusion. The Sun's
core is an extremely hot and dense region where temperatures and pressures are high enough to
initiate nuclear fusion reactions.
The dominant fusion reaction occurring in the core of the Sun is the fusion of hydrogen nuclei
(protons) into helium nuclei. This process is known as the proton-proton chain reaction. It can be
summarized in the following steps:
Proton-Proton Chain Reaction:
1. Two protons (hydrogen nuclei) fuse to form a deuterium nucleus (a proton and a neutron), releasing a
positron (positively charged electron) and a neutrino.
2. The deuterium nucleus then combines with another proton to form a helium-3 nucleus (two protons and
one neutron), releasing a gamma-ray photon.
3. Two helium-3 nuclei fuse to form a helium-4 nucleus (two protons and two neutrons), along with two
protons (which can go on to participate in further fusion reactions), releasing two protons and energy in
the form of gamma-ray photons.

The energy released by these fusion reactions is emitted in the form of gamma-ray photons. These photons
undergo numerous scattering and absorption interactions within the dense core of the Sun before eventually
reaching the surface. At the surface, the energy is primarily emitted as visible light and other forms of
electromagnetic radiation.
Sun as a star:
1) The sun is the largest and most massive object in the solar system. But it is just middle aged
medium-sized star among the hundreds of millions of stars in the Milky Way galaxy.
2) The sun is nearly a perfect sphere.
3) The mean radius of the sun is
4) The total volume of the sun is
5) The mass of the sun is
6) The sun is composed almost entirely of hydrogen and helium gas.
7) Multi-Million degree temperatures in its dense core sustain nuclear fusion providing the energy
source for sunlight.
Luminosity:

Math -07: [Collect form An introduction to modern Astronomy Book ]

 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RED GAINT AND RED SUPER GAINT:
Red giant Red super giant
01 Red giants are relatively large stars Red Super giants are even larger and more
that have exhausted their core luminous than red giants. They represent the
hydrogen fuel and have expanded as final stages in the evolution of massive stars.
a result. Red giants typically have radii Super giants can have radii hundreds to
that are tens to hundreds of times thousands of times larger than that of the Sun.
larger than that of the Sun.
02 Red giants can appear in various can also vary in color, but they
colors ranging from orange to red. tend to appear more yellow, orange, or even
Their color is mainly due to their low blue-white, depending on their temperature.
surface temperatures.
03 Red giants can vary in mass, but they are generally very massive stars,
are typically not as massive as often with masses many times that of the Sun.
supergiant. They usually have masses Some supergiant is so massive that they end
similar to that of the Sun or slightly their lives in spectacular supernova
larger. explosions.
This pdf is edited by the help of two fundamental book-
1) Fundamental Astronomy
2) An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics