Astronomy Today (9th Edition)
9th Edition
ISBN: 9780134450278
Author: Eric Chaisson, Steve McMillan
Publisher: PEARSON
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Chapter 1, Problem 14D
To determine
The reason for having the long baseline when measuring the distances to objects in space, and the way in which the astronomers can expand the baseline to measure the distances of objects in space beyond the diameter of Earth.
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Earth is about 150 million kilometers from the Sun (1 Astronomical Unit, or AU), and the apparent brightness of the Sun in our sky is about 1300 watts/m2. Using these two facts and the inverse square law for light, determine the apparent brightness that we would measure for the Sun if we were located at the following positions.
a) At the orbit of Venus (67 million km from the Sun)
Earth is about 150 million kilometers from the Sun (1 Astronomical Unit, or AU), and the apparent brightness of the Sun in our sky is about 1300 watts/m2. Using these two facts and the inverse square law for light, determine the apparent brightness that we would measure for the Sun if we were located at the following positions.
a) At the orbit of Jupiter (780 million km from the Sun).
The nearest star to our sun is Proxima Centauri, at a distance of 4.3 light-years from the Sun. A light-year is the distance that light travels in one year (365 days). How far away, in kilometers, is Proxima Centauri from the Sun?Express your answer using two significant figures.
Chapter 1 Solutions
Astronomy Today (9th Edition)
Ch. 1 - Prob. 1DCh. 1 - Prob. 2DCh. 1 - Prob. 3DCh. 1 - Prob. 4DCh. 1 - Prob. 5DCh. 1 - Prob. 6DCh. 1 - Prob. 7DCh. 1 - Prob. 8DCh. 1 - Prob. 9DCh. 1 - Prob. 10D
Ch. 1 - Prob. 11DCh. 1 - Prob. 12DCh. 1 - Prob. 13DCh. 1 - Prob. 14DCh. 1 - Prob. 15DCh. 1 - Prob. 1MCCh. 1 - Prob. 2MCCh. 1 - Prob. 3MCCh. 1 - Prob. 4MCCh. 1 - Prob. 5MCCh. 1 - Prob. 6MCCh. 1 - Prob. 7MCCh. 1 - Prob. 8MCCh. 1 - Prob. 9MCCh. 1 - Prob. 10MCCh. 1 - Prob. 1PCh. 1 - Prob. 2PCh. 1 - Prob. 3PCh. 1 - Prob. 4PCh. 1 - Prob. 5PCh. 1 - Prob. 6PCh. 1 - Prob. 7PCh. 1 - Prob. 9P
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- The distance from the Sun to the nearest star is about 4 1016 m. The Milky Way galaxy (Fig. P1.31) is roughly a disk of diameter 1021 in and thickness 1019 m. Find the order of magnitude of the number of stars in the Milky Way. Assume the distance between the Sun and our nearest neighbor is typical. Figure P1.31 The Milky Way galaxy.arrow_forwardWhy did early human cultures observe astronomical phenomena? Was it for scientific research?arrow_forwardPlease answer the following A) Suppose an object takes 1000 years to orbit the Sun. How many times farther from the Sun is it, when compared with Earth? B) Communications with the spacecraft Alpha using radio waves require 2000 years for the round trip (there and back). This implies that Alpha is how many light years away from Earth?arrow_forward
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