Is there a relationship between mass and luminosity for stars?

mass-luminosity relation, in astronomy, law stating that the luminosity of a star is proportional to some power of the mass of the star. More massive stars are in general more luminous.

Do elliptical galaxies have high mass stars?

Most elliptical galaxies are composed of older, low-mass stars, with a sparse interstellar medium and minimal star formation activity, and they tend to be surrounded by large numbers of globular clusters.

How can we measure the mass of an elliptical galaxy?

The elliptical galaxy’s mass = k × (velocity dispersion)2 × (the distance the stars are from the galaxy center)/G, where k is a factor that depends on the shape of the galaxy and the angle the galaxy is from Earth.

Why are elliptical galaxies the brightest?

Spiral galaxies are hotbeds of star formation, but elliptical galaxies aren’t nearly as prolific because they contain less gas and dust, which means fewer new (and brighter) stars are born. The existing stars inside an elliptical galaxy tend to be older, giving off more red light than younger stars.

What is the major difference between an elliptical galaxy and a spiral galaxy?

Spiral galaxies have a flat disk like shape and a bulging center with spiral arms consisting the disk. Elliptical galaxies are ellipsoids with no clearly visible internal structure. Spiral galaxies have a very dense nucleus and a region of stars bulging outwards from the disks and, therefore, called the central bulge.

How do we determine the amount of dark matter in elliptical galaxies?

How do we determine the amount of dark matter in elliptical galaxies? We measure the speeds of stars at different radii from the galactic center and determine how much mass is interior to the orbit. there are different Doppler shifts among the individual stars in the galaxy.

Would stars orbiting faster or slower mean the galaxy has more mass?

For most orbits the Galaxy mass inside the orbit is MUCH larger than the star’s mass, so it is safe to ignore the star’s mass. The gravity from the part of the Galaxy inside the star’s orbit accelerates the star so it moves in an orbit. The greater the gravity pulling on a star, the faster the star will move.

What are some major differences between an elliptical galaxy and a spiral galaxy?

What is the relationship between mass and size of stars?

The more or less constant density of all main-sequence stars makes sense. Think about it… smaller stars are the least massive. Medium-sized ones are a bit more massive, but also a bit larger, so that mass has more space to fill.