What Is Density in Astronomy

The term density appears in astronomy in many different contexts. In its most generic use the density is the mass per unit volume of an object or region and might have units like kg/m3 or Mo/pc3.

How is density used in astronomy?

Density is extremely useful for examining what an object is made of, especially in astronomy, where nearly all of the objects of interest are very far away. … The average or “mean” density is defined as the mass of the object divided by its volume. We will use grams (g) for mass and cubic centimeters (cm3) for volume.

What is the density of a star?

Density = 10-7 g/cc.