Re: [FT] Jump limits

Daniel Cleyne wrote:

> > Well, the other way around, and not entirely--luminosity depends on
> > temperature, temperature depends on mass and chemical composition.
> > For Main Sequence stars, if my memory is right, Luminosity is
> > proportional to Mass^3.8, approximately and leaving out a couple of
> > factors.
> >
> >
>	  Ok that's fair. Not being an astronomer, I just  picked the
> equations out of a book and stuck them into code. The point is that
once you
> have luminosity you can calculate mass to a fair degree of accuracy (I
mean
> they are only estimates in the first place). Again looking at the code
most
> of the details rely on having a luminosity value to generate them. So
> whether luminosity is the defining factor for these values or whether
they
> are just proportionally related it doesn't matter too much.

If those stars are part of a multiple star system (and the majority of
stars
are), those estimates about mass tend to be very accurate, so they do
matter.
The only place where estimates are questionable are distances.	If you
don't
know about stars, why not go down to the public library and check out a
couple
of books about them.  University libraries are usually much better, if
one is
nearby.

IAS