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Stellar mass is a phrase that is used by astronomers to describe the mass of a star. It is usually enumerated in terms of the Sun's mass as a proportion of a solar mass (M ☉). Hence, the bright star Sirius has around 2.02 M ☉. [1]
The solar mass (M ☉) is a standard unit of mass in astronomy, equal to approximately 2 × 10 30 kg (2 nonillion kilograms in US short scale). It is approximately equal to the mass of the Sun. It is often used to indicate the masses of other stars, as well as stellar clusters, nebulae, galaxies and black holes. More precisely, the mass of the ...
Neutron star material is remarkably dense: a normal-sized matchbox containing neutron-star material would have a weight of approximately 3 billion tonnes, the same weight as a 0.5-cubic-kilometer chunk of the Earth (a cube with edges of about 800 meters) from Earth's surface. [12] [13]
There are two related theoretical limits on how massive a star can possibly be: The accretion mass limit and the Eddington mass limit. The accretion limit is related to star formation: After about 120 M ☉ have accreted in a protostar , the combined mass should have become hot enough for its heat to drive away any further incoming matter.
An overview of ranges of mass. To help compare different orders of magnitude, the following lists describe various mass levels between 10 −67 kg and 10 52 kg. The least massive thing listed here is a graviton, and the most massive thing is the observable universe.
Neutron stars are stellar remnants produced when a star of around 8–9 solar masses or more explodes in a supernova at the end of its life. They are usually produced by stars of less than 20 solar masses, although a more massive star may produce a neutron star in certain cases. [2] 4U 1820-30: 9.1 Pulsar [3] Lich Pulsar (PSR B1257+12) 10 Pulsar
Van Maanen 2, or van Maanen's Star, is the closest known solitary white dwarf to the Solar System. It is a dense, compact stellar remnant no longer generating energy and has equivalent to about 68% of the Sun's mass but only 1% of its radius. [ 8 ]
The Sun is classed as a G2 star, [66] meaning it is a G-type star, with 2 indicating its surface temperature is in the second range of the G class. The solar constant is the amount of power that the Sun deposits per unit area that is directly exposed to sunlight.