USAAAO 2026, I кръг — Задача 20
USAAAO 2026 - First Round · 9 февруари 2026 г.
Problem writers
Problem writers: Srihari (Hari) Balaji, Vincent Bian, Ferdinand, Hagan Hensley, Elizabeth Lee, Joe McCarty, Lucas Pinheiro, Feodor Yevtushenko
Условие
Some stars formed in the early universe are still observable today. If an observer observed one and it is still in the main sequence phase, what would most likely be its mass?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
Отговори
- A
Решение
Solution: Stars formed in the early universe that remain observable today must have very long main-sequence lifetimes. Stellar lifetime decreases with increasing mass as they rapidly burn their fuel. Hence, stars with masses above a few solar masses live for only millions to hundreds of millions of years. In contrast, low-mass stars can live for tens of billions of years This means, any main sequence stars formed in the early universe that still exist today must be low-mass, or the answer is (A). You may explore the stellar mass–lifetime relationship using the interactive simulation at https://foothillastrosims.github.io/stellar-lifespan/.
Answer: A
Оригинал в Архива: usaaao_first_exam_2026.pdf · официални решения: usaaao_first_exam_solutions_2026.pdf