- #1
akela
- 4
- 1
Astronomy homework question -- stars emitting in infrared
Dear All,
Hello! This is my first post. I am taking a distribution introductory astronomy course (low on math) and am having trouble with this question:
Which object emits more intense infrared radiation:
_ the Earth
_ the Sun
_ a star that is the same size as the Sun but five times hotter.
_ a star that is double the size of the Sun but half as hot.
I cannot decide between options 3 and 4. On the one hand, a star that is half as hot as the Sun emits mostly in infrared. On the other, a hotter star emits more across the whole spectrum. My gut instinct is to go with 3, but I am just not sure. Would using the Stefan-Boltzmann and Wien formulas be helpful?
Thanks in advance,
Akela
Dear All,
Hello! This is my first post. I am taking a distribution introductory astronomy course (low on math) and am having trouble with this question:
Which object emits more intense infrared radiation:
_ the Earth
_ the Sun
_ a star that is the same size as the Sun but five times hotter.
_ a star that is double the size of the Sun but half as hot.
I cannot decide between options 3 and 4. On the one hand, a star that is half as hot as the Sun emits mostly in infrared. On the other, a hotter star emits more across the whole spectrum. My gut instinct is to go with 3, but I am just not sure. Would using the Stefan-Boltzmann and Wien formulas be helpful?
Thanks in advance,
Akela