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Estimating the mass of the Milky Way a) Assuming the Sun moves in a circular orbit of radius 8 kiloparsecs around the center of the Milky Way, and that its orbital speed is 220 km/s, calculate how many years it takes the Sun to complete one orbit of the Galaxy. Remember to convert kiloparsecs to kilometers. b) Using the modified form of Kepler's third law (introduced in Lecture 13, for measuring the combined masses of binary stars), R³ m+ M = estimate the mass of the Milky Way enclosed within 8 kpc (Sun's orbit radius). The mass of the Milky Way inside p² I the Sun's orbit can be represented as a single mass (M) located at its center, and the mass of the Sun (m) can be considered infinitesimally small compared to the Milky Way's (i.e., m < M). c) Is this estimate of the Milky Way's mass an upper or lower limit? Explain your reasoning.
Transcribed Image Text:Estimating the mass of the Milky Way a) Assuming the Sun moves in a circular orbit of radius 8 kiloparsecs around the center of the Milky Way, and that its orbital speed is 220 km/s, calculate how many years it takes the Sun to complete one orbit of the Galaxy. Remember to convert kiloparsecs to kilometers. b) Using the modified form of Kepler's third law (introduced in Lecture 13, for measuring the combined masses of binary stars), R³ m+ M = estimate the mass of the Milky Way enclosed within 8 kpc (Sun's orbit radius). The mass of the Milky Way inside p² I the Sun's orbit can be represented as a single mass (M) located at its center, and the mass of the Sun (m) can be considered infinitesimally small compared to the Milky Way's (i.e., m < M). c) Is this estimate of the Milky Way's mass an upper or lower limit? Explain your reasoning.
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