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EXERCISE 26
As you know, the Sun has a luminosity of 3.9 * 10^26 Watts; its radius is 7.0 * 10^8 m; and its surface temperature is 5800 K. (a) When the Sun becomes a red giant five billion years from now, its radius will be approximately 1.2 * 10^11 m and its surface temperature will be about 3000 K. How many times more or less luminous will the Sun be then, compared with what it is now? (b) After that red giant phase, the Sun will become a white dwarf. Its radius will be approximately that of Earth's current radius, and its surface temperature will be about 40,000 K. How many times more or less luminous will the Sun be then, compared with what it is now? Earth's radius is 6.4 * 10^6 m. (c) Earth is 1.5 * 10^11 m away from the center of the Sun. How much flux, in units of Watts per square meter, will Earth receive from the Sun during the Sun's main sequence, red giant, and white dwarf stages? |