Eddington limit


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Eddington limit

(ed -ing-tŏn) An upper limit to the luminosity that can be radiated by a celestial object of a specified mass. Beyond this limit the forces on matter due to radiation pressure in the emitting region would exceed the gravitational forces holding the object together.

Eddington limit

[′ed·iŋ·tən ‚lim·ət]
(astrophysics)
A limit on the radiation emitted by a star above which the star becomes unstable.
References in periodicals archive ?
The Eddington limit is the point at which the force of gravity pulling gas together is balanced by the outward pressure from the stars.
Rare galaxy furiously burning gas to form stars found
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