- #1
fizixfan
- 105
- 33
I made three charts from several different sources plotting the luminosity and distance from Earth of 26 to 300 Stars. In each chart, there appears to be a correlation between a star's luminosity (in solar units) and its distance from Earth (or solar system, whichever you prefer) in light years. I used R-squared (Coefficient of Determination) as a measurement of the relationship between luminosity and distance. I got values of 0.43, 0.67, and 0.88 depending on the source and sample size. These appear to range between moderate to very strong. I'm no expert in statistics, but if you look at the charts there is a visible relation between the two variables (in my opinion).
I don't think these correlations are artifacts, but then again I'm only an amateur astronomer. However I have read in the literature that there are clusters of OB stars in the solar neighborhood which may include Rigel and the possible birthplace of Betelgeuse (an M-class star with started out as an O star) https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/abs/2015/12/aa27058-15/aa27058-15.html. There is an interactive diagram which shows these star clusters in 3D: http://sci.esa.int/hipparcos/ob-stars-interactive/ This research may lend support to the idea that the solar system is in a kind of "gap" between large stellar structures and areas of star formation.
Within about 300 parsecs from the sun, it appears that the more distant the star, the greater its intrinsic brightness. Is it reasonable to hypothesize that there is a correlation between the distance of stars from the solar neighborhood and their luminosity?
I don't think these correlations are artifacts, but then again I'm only an amateur astronomer. However I have read in the literature that there are clusters of OB stars in the solar neighborhood which may include Rigel and the possible birthplace of Betelgeuse (an M-class star with started out as an O star) https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/abs/2015/12/aa27058-15/aa27058-15.html. There is an interactive diagram which shows these star clusters in 3D: http://sci.esa.int/hipparcos/ob-stars-interactive/ This research may lend support to the idea that the solar system is in a kind of "gap" between large stellar structures and areas of star formation.
Within about 300 parsecs from the sun, it appears that the more distant the star, the greater its intrinsic brightness. Is it reasonable to hypothesize that there is a correlation between the distance of stars from the solar neighborhood and their luminosity?