MadSci Network: Astronomy
Query:

Subject: At what distance from Earth will R136a1 appear to be as bright as the Sun?

Date: Fri Jul 23 14:47:51 2010
Posted by Teddy
Grade level: grad (science) School: UC Santa Barbara
City: Santa Barbara State/Province: CA Country: USA
Area of science: Astronomy
ID: 1279921671.As
Message:

The recently discovered "hyper-star" R136a1 is described as having a luminosity about 10 million times 
that of the Sun. I'm having a debate with a friend as to the distance from the Earth at which R136a1 will 
*appear* to be as bright as the Sun. 

So, I calculated that if R136a1 is 10 million times more luminous than the Sun, then it would appear to 
be 
as bright as the Sun from Earth if it was 0.05 light years from the Earth (the square root of 10 million is 
~3162, and 3162 AU is 0.05 light years). 

My friend says that a star as large as R136a1 has to emit a different color-spectrum from the Sun's (she 
says that it has to be bluer), and that a color spectrum that is different from "white light" won't appear 
to 
be as bright to us as the white light from the Sun. She says that it will have to be even closer to appear 
as 
bright. 

So, which one of us is (more) correct? Or maybe I should ask which on of us is less wrong? :-]


Re: At what distance from Earth will R136a1 appear to be as bright as the Sun?

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