Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Re: [Phys-l] the sun



Larry,
The answer is yes. In terms of mass the most massive stars are about 70 solar masses and the least massive are about .01 solar masses. But if you compare number of stars at each mass, there are very few very massive stars and many low mass stars. So the sun in terms of number is more massive then the "typical" star.
Finding the ends of the mass sequence is tricky since very massive stars don't "live" very long and are usually shrouded in the nebulae they formed from. Low mass stars on the other hand can only be seen if they are near by, otherwise they are too dim to detect at great distances.
Hope this helps.
Gary


At 10:12 AM 11/12/2008 -0700, you wrote:
Of all the stars in the Milky Way on the main sequence, is the sun's mass
close to the average or the median?

Thanks,
Larry
_______________________________________________
Forum for Physics Educators
Phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
https://carnot.physics.buffalo.edu/mailman/listinfo/phys-l