can we tell the temperature of a star just by looking with our naked eyes?
2007-03-12 17:40:35 · 5 answers · asked by Michelle Z 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Yes we can and it's easy to learn
The color of a star is determined by measuring its color index.
The colour depends on the temperature of the star:
Hot stars are blue.
Cooler stars are red.
Hot stars can be as hot as 30,000 °C or more, but the coolest stars are only 1,000 °C.
The Sun is quite a cool, yellow star. It is about 6,000 °C.
The temperature of a star, and so its colour, depends on the amount of mass it has
here is a picture of it the next time you go out to look at the stars! ..
http://docs.kde.org/stable/nl/kdeedu/kstars/color_indices.png
2007-03-12 17:54:25 · answer #1 · answered by spaceprt 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Kinda. The color of a star can tell you the temperature. The whiter, bluer stars are much hotter than the redder stars, which are cooler.
Taking a spectrum can give you more detailed info on the temp by seeing which electronic transitions were able to happen - which depend on temperature.
2007-03-13 00:47:37 · answer #2 · answered by eri 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can't tell the exact temperature of a star like that, but knowing the color you could guess. If the star is white or blue it means that it's hotter then a yellow or orange. The "cold" ones are red.
2007-03-13 10:26:18 · answer #3 · answered by Raven 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Spectrometers can tell which gases are in the star, their amounts, and usually the temperature at wich it burns. In other words the starts "color" tells a lot.
2007-03-13 00:47:12 · answer #4 · answered by Kerry Q 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
not with your naked eye, no
2007-03-13 00:43:56 · answer #5 · answered by nemahknatut88 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋