Question

Let's imagine that a new ultra-violet (UV) space telescope has just been launched. It has detected a previously unknown source of UV radiation. The source has a black body spectrum peaking at a wavelength of 82nm, and a flux of 9.4x10^(-20) W/m2. The source seems to be associated with a small red star – perhaps it is a binary companion. If the star and UV source are 100 light-years from Earth, what can you deduce about the UV source? Explain your reasoning. What do you think it is?

Answer 1