Estimating Star Distances with a Light Bulb

Estimating Star Distances with a Light Bulb

A practical experiment is described to estimate the distance to a star using simple equipment, suitable for secondary or undergraduate students. The brightness of the star is visually matched to a miniature filament lamp, and its distance inferred from the inverse square law. Students gain an apprec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physics education Vol. 56; no. 4
Main Authors: Craig, David M, Leslie, Lewis R
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 01-07-2021
Subjects:
Astronomy
College Science
Light
Measurement Equipment
Measurement Techniques
Science Experiments
Science Instruction
Secondary School Science
Undergraduate Study
Online Access:Get more information
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Summary:A practical experiment is described to estimate the distance to a star using simple equipment, suitable for secondary or undergraduate students. The brightness of the star is visually matched to a miniature filament lamp, and its distance inferred from the inverse square law. Students gain an appreciation of astronomical units and practice in manipulating powers of 10. By additionally applying knowledge of the H-R diagram and black body radiation, accuracy can be improved to one order of magnitude.
ISSN:0031-9120
DOI:10.1088/1361-6552/abf9fb