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even though a white dwarf may burn hot, it's size is what limits it's luminosity. Here is one way to look at it: Imagine a white dwarf with the mass of our sun. Our sun's surface temp is right around 5,770K and weighs one solar mass. Now, this imaginary white dwarf would be about the size of the earth and have a surface temp of around 10,000K - 11,000K. This white dwarf would have a surface area 1/333,000 of the sun. A white dwarf of this size is about average and as you can imagine, has very little room to put out energy compared to other solar masses.

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Elyse Daniel

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3y ago

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Related Questions

What type of star has a high temperature and high luminosity in the HR diagram?

White dwarfs.


What type of star has a high temperature and a high luminosity in the hr diagram?

White dwarfs.


How is it possible for white dwarfs of have a lower luminosity than the sun even though the sun is much cooler than the white dwarfs?

Because luminosity is a measure of brightness over distance. Also white dwarfs are a hundred times smaller than the Sun. Most white dwarfs are a long way away and thus are difficult to see.


What type of star has a high temperature and low luminosity in the HR diagram?

A blue dwarf star would have high temperature and low luminosity in the Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram. Blue dwarf stars are in the lower left corner of the diagram, characterized by their high surface temperature and faint luminosity compared to other stars of similar temperature.


What group of stars has relatively low lumunosity and relatively low surface temperatures?

A group of stars with relatively low luminosity and low surface temperatures are known as red dwarf stars. These stars are the most common in our galaxy and are cooler and smaller than our Sun. Despite their lower luminosity, red dwarfs have long lifespans and can remain stable for billions of years.


Why are white dwarfs common?

White dwarfs are the remnants of dead low to medium mass stars, which is the mass range of the majority of stars.


What type of star has temperatures and low luminosity?

A white dwarf.A white dwarf.A white dwarf.A white dwarf.


How is it possinle for whit dwarfs to have a lower luminosity than the sun even though the sun is much cooler than the white dwarf?

Luminosity will also depend on the surface area. The Sun has about 10,000 times the surface area of a typical white dwarf.


What type of star has low temperature and high luminosity?

A white dwarf.A white dwarf.A white dwarf.A white dwarf.


How do white dwarfs compare with super-giants in terms of temperature and luminosity?

The plural of dwarf is "dwarves". White dwarves are hotter than supergiants. White dwarves also have much less luminosity. This is related to their very small surface area. Since white dwarves no longer produce energy, they will cool down over time - but this takes quite a while.


What is more common in our galaxy white dwarfs or stellar mass black holes?

There are more white dwarfs. Only the most massive stars can form black holes. White dwarfs form from low to medium mass stars, which far outnumber the supermassive ones.


Are main sequence stars all alike in their luminosity and temperature?

No. Main sequence stars vary greatly in both temperature and luminosity. The least massive stars, red dwarfs, can have temperatures as low as 2,300 Kelvin and luminosity as low as 0.015% that of the sun. The most massive stars, which are blue in color can have temperatures as high as 50,000 Kelvin and may be hundreds of thousands times more luminous than the sun.