The tag has no wiki summary.

learn more… | top users | synonyms

4
votes
2answers
513 views

How do you measure distance to stars within the galaxy?

I know that for close by stars (<50 LY) we can use the parallax effect. And for distant galaxies we use red-shift (& hubble's constant). So how do we measure how far is a star lets say 50,000 ...
3
votes
1answer
367 views

About binary stars and calculating velocity, period and radius of their orbit

I saw somewhere about being able to measure the velocity, period and radius of a binary star orbit by looking at red shift and blue shift. I understand it but can someone give me an example of ...
4
votes
4answers
260 views

Are galactic stars spiraling inwards?

Are the stars in our galaxy spiraling inwards towards the center, or are they in a permanent orbit? And if we are heading towards the center then what is the rate of this process? I started ...
6
votes
1answer
442 views

How do we know the masses of single stars?

I have recently read that we can only know the masses of stars in binary systems, because we use Kepler's third law to indirectly measure the mass. However, it is not hard to find measurements for the ...
3
votes
1answer
160 views

Is Dyson Sphere a stable construction?

Suppose that a star is encompassed by a Dyson Sphere. Do we need a position control system for the Dyson Sphere to keep its origin always aligned with the center of the star? Will it stay aligned ...
2
votes
1answer
117 views

The role of dark matter in black holes and star formation

In my understanding, there exists a critical mass for which a star needs to be in order for it to collapse into a black hole. This also applies to a certain critical density of gas in order for stars ...
1
vote
2answers
152 views

Dark Matter 'Stars'

I'm aware that the Milky Way has a dark matter 'halo' around it, presumably a spherically symmetric distribution. But I'm completely ignorant regarding the theories explaining dark matter... Is there ...
0
votes
3answers
179 views

the sounds of an exploding star

We know that space cannot spread a sound wave as there is no "air" or a medium that would support the spread of a sound wave. However if we put ourselves in the vicinity of an exploding star, would it ...
0
votes
1answer
124 views

Gyrochronology, the formula is empirical ?

The formula used in Gyrochronology that relates a star's Period of Rotation-Mass-Age is empirical? This news How to Learn a Star’s True Age "“A star’s rotation slows down steadily with time, ...