Astrophysics (Index)About

luminosity

(L)
(measure of brightness)

Luminosity is the total rate of energy emission by a star or other astronomical object, often expressed in joules per second (i.e., watts) or in solar luminosities (LSun). Thus it is the power of the starshine. For objects shining the same in all directions (isotropically), absolute bolometric magnitude is a measure of the same thing, but expressed logarithmically. The term luminosity is also used in discussions of stellar structure to refer to the energy produced/released within an inner portion of the star, such as citing the luminosity produced within a particular radius of the center, e.g., the stellar core.

Generally when unqualified and not in a context that implies otherwise, luminosity is intended to mean bolometric luminosity, i.e., energy emitted over all wavelengths. The term may be used for a single wavelength (monochromatic luminosity) or over some wavelength range or via some passband (filter).


(EMR,measure)
Further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminosity
https://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/l/Luminosity
https://www.atnf.csiro.au/outreach/education/senior/astrophysics/photometry_luminosity.html
https://dictionary.obspm.fr/index.php?showAll=1&formSearchTextfield=luminosity

Referenced by pages:
A-type star (A)
AB Aurigae (AB Aur)
accretion
Achernar
active galactic nucleus (AGN)
active galaxy
AD Leonis (AD Leo)
Algol (Beta Per)
Alpha Centauri (α Centauri)
Arcturus
AU Microscopii (AU Mic)
BA supergiant
Baldwin effect
Barnard's Star
Beta Centauri
Betelgeuse
binary star
blue horizontal branch (BHB)
bolometric luminosity (LBol)
bolometric magnitude (Mbol)
calcium-rich gap transient (ca-rich gap transient)
Canopus
Capella
Cepheid variable (CEP)
cluster radius
color-magnitude diagram (CMD)
compact object (CO)
conditional luminosity function (CLF)
Dartmouth Stellar Evolution Database (DSED)
David Dunlap Observatory Catalog (DDO)
dusty galaxy
dwarf spheroidal galaxy (dSph)
Eddington luminosity
energy
Epsilon Eridani (ε Eridani)
Epsilon Indi (ε Indi)
equilibrium temperature (Teq)
Faber-Jackson relation (FJR)
faint young Sun paradox
Fanaroff-Riley classification
flux
flux-weighted gravity-luminosity relationship (FGLR)
galaxy classification
galaxy group
giant star
Giclas 29-38 (G 29-38)
globular cluster (GC)
H-R diagram (HRD)
halo abundance matching (HAM)
Hayashi limit
heartbeat star
Henyey track
Herbig AeBe star (HAeBe)
Hess diagram
HII region (HII)
horizontal branch (HB)
HR 8799
Hubble expansion
hypergiant
infrared (IR)
instability strip
interstellar radiation field (ISRF)
isochronal fitting
isotropy
K-type star (K)
Kapteyn's Star
Kelvin-Helmholtz mechanism (KH mechanism)
Kelvin-Helmholtz timescale (KH timescale)
Kepler-79
Lacaille 9352
Lalande 21185
LHS 1140
light cone
low-surface-brightness galaxy (LSB galaxy)
luminosity class
luminosity density
luminosity distance (dL)
luminosity function (LF)
luminous blue variable (LBV)
luminous infrared galaxy (LIRG)
luminous red nova (LRN)
Luyten 726-8
M-type star (M)
magnetically arrested disk (MAD)
main sequence fitting
mass-luminosity relation
mass-to-light ratio (M/L)
molecular cloud
monochromatic luminosity
O-type star (O)
obscured fraction-luminosity relation
Ogle Galaxy Catalog (OGC)
partial ionization zone
PG 1159 star
planetary nebula luminosity function (PNLF)
Procyon
radiant flux
radio source counts
red clump (RC)
red giant
red-giant branch (RGB)
reddening
Rigel
ROSAT
Ross 154
Ross 248
RR Lyrae variable (RRL)
Salpeter timescale
SH0ES
Sirius
SMBH formation
SMC X-1
snow line
solar luminosity (LSun)
spectral class
spectral type
spin-down luminosity
stellar activity
stellar distance determination
stellar evolution
stellar luminosity determination
stellar mass determination
stellar parameter determination
stellar radius determination
stellar structure
subdwarf (sd)
Sun
sunspot
Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect (SZ effect)
SuperCOSMOS Sky Survey (SSS)
supergiant
supernova (SN)
supernova light curve (SN light curve)
synchrotron radiation
Teegarden's Star
tidal migration
timescale (t)
tip of the red-giant branch (TRGB)
TRAPPIST-1
Tully-Fisher relation (TFR)
turn-off point (TO)
Type Ia supernova
ultra diffuse galaxy (UDG)
van den Bergh galaxy classification
Vega
Vogt-Russell theorem (VR theorem)
volume weighting
VY Canis Majoris (VY CMa)
watt (W)
Wesenheit function
white dwarf (WD)
Wilson-Bappu effect
wind-momentum luminosity relationship (WLR)
Wolf-Rayet star
WR 104
WR 140
X-ray luminosity function (XLF)
XBONG

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