FDC Astro Resumen
FDC Astro Resumen
FDC Astro Resumen
Recommended lectures:
Frank Shu, The Physical Universe: An Introduction to Astronomy (University
Science Books, 1982)
Hannu Kartunnen et al., Fundamental Astronomy (Springer, 1996)
Astronomical objects (branches)
Stars: main sequence stars (like the Sun), giants and supergiants, white
dwarfs, brown dwarfs.
Compact stars: neutron stars and black holes.
Binary or multiple systems. Variable stars.
Open clusters. Globular clusters.
Solar system: Sun, planets (dwarf planets, asteroids), satellites, small or
minor bodies (comets, meteoroids, interplanetary dust, solar wind).
Interstellar medium (gas and dust). Interstellar clouds (different types).
Galaxies (like our Milky Way). Ellipticals. Spirals. Irregulars. Interacting.
Active galaxies (AGN). Quasars. Extragalactic Astronomy.
Clusters of galaxies (like the Local group). Superclusters.
Large-scale structure of the Universe Cosmology.
Photometric concepts
Specific intensity:
the energy flowing across an element
of area dA, in time dt, within the solid
angle d, in the frequency interval
+d
d E =I cos dA d d dt
( W m2 Hz1 sr 1 )
( erg cm2 s1 Hz1 sr 1 )
c
I =I
2
( I :erg cm2 s1 A1 sr1 )
Hipparchos:
m=1 (the brightest stars)
m=6 (the faintest ones, visible to the naked eye)
Current definition: lets define m=0 for some preselected flux F0:
F
m=2.5 log
F0
Important note:
The brighter an object appears, the lower its magnitude value (inverse relation!).
Some examples:
Sirius, the brightest star: m=-1.5
The (full) moon: m=-12.5
The Sun: m=-26.8
The faintest observed magnitude: m~30
If we were able to measure the total m over all the wavelengths we would get the
bolometric magnitude mbol. In practice, astronomers use photometric systems
(set of well-defined filters), as the Johnson-Morgan UBVRI photometric system or
the Stromgrens four-colour or uvby system.
Absolute magnitude.
Apparent magnitudes do not tell us anything about the true brightness of stars.
Absolute magnitude does measure the intrinsic brightness of a star: it is defined
as the apparent magnitude at a distance of 10 parsecs from the star.
If the parallax of a star is one arcsec, then it is at one parsec from us!
Parsec comes from parallax and arcsec (easy to remember)
For example: Alpha Centauri has a parallax of 0.742 arcsec D=1.35 pc.
Smallest parallax from ground: 0.01 arcsec (100 pc) Galactic center ~ 8 kpc
Hipparcos satellite (1989): 0.001 arcsec (1000 pc)
GAIA mission (2013): <200 as (?) >5000 pc (to be confirmed)
The quantity m-M is called the distance modulus, it gives (or it is related to) the
star distance:
r
mM =5 log
10 pc
ISM produces extinction and reddening of the light coming from stars.
Extinction.
This holds both for the bolometric magnitude and for the magnitude in a given
photometric band, for instance:
r
V M V =5 log + AV
10 pc
here AV is the extinction in the V band.
Reddening (colour excess).
Blue light is scattered and absorbed more than red by the ISM: this implies a
reddening of the light, i.e., B-V increases (and other colours).
r r
BM B =5 log + A B and V M V =5 log + AV
10 pc 10 pc
Important note: observed total extinction includes local extinction from the
source, ISM extinction and atmospheric extinction!!!
Stellar spectral classification
Spectroscopy:
Star light (point) objective prism or slit spectrograph spectrum (spread)
Stellar spectroscopy is the most powerful tool for understanding the physics of
stars.
Luminosity classes
Main sequence stellar parameters:
HRD traces the evolution of stars.
ISM GMC
(Giant Molecular Cloud Complexs)
L ~ M3.8 ~ M4
T(life) = E/L ~ M-3
Open (galactic) clusters: ~102 stars, irregular, confined to galactic plane, young
Globular clusters: ~102-6 stars, spherical, in the galactic halo, old
Stellar associations: gravitationally unbound (similar proper motions).
NS.