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With a mass only 93 times that of Jupiter (M J), or .09 M ☉, AB Doradus C, a companion to AB Doradus A, is the smallest known star undergoing nuclear fusion in its core. [12] For stars with similar metallicity to the Sun, the theoretical minimum mass the star can have, and still undergo fusion at the core, is estimated to be about 75 M J.
From this measurement and the apparent magnitudes of both stars, the luminosities can be found, and by using the mass–luminosity relationship, the masses of each star. These masses are used to re-calculate the separation distance, and the process is repeated. The process is iterated many times, and accuracies as high as 5% can be achieved. [8]
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 .
The astronomical unit of mass is the solar mass. [1] The symbol M ☉ is often used to refer to this unit. The solar mass (M ☉), 1.988 92 × 10 30 kg, is a standard way to express mass in astronomy, used to describe the masses of other stars and galaxies.
[a] This obstruction leads to difficulties in determining the parameters needed to calculate the star's mass. Eta Carinae is the bright spot hidden in the double-lobed dust cloud. It is the most massive star that has a Bayer designation. It was only discovered to be (at least) two stars in the past few decades.
A typical mass density for a globular cluster is 70 M Sun pc −3, which is 500 times the mass density near the Sun. [2] In the solar neighborhood, the stellar density of a star cluster must be greater than 0.08 M Sun pc −3 in order to avoid tidal disruption. [3]
For example, the initial mass of a star is the primary factor of determining its colour, luminosity, radius, radiation spectrum, and quantity of materials and energy it emitted into interstellar space during its lifetime. [1] At low masses, the IMF sets the Milky Way Galaxy mass budget and the
In astrophysics and physical cosmology the mass-to-light ratio, normally designated with the Greek letter upsilon, ϒ, [1] is the quotient between the total mass of a spatial volume (typically on the scales of a galaxy or a cluster) and its luminosity.