Life in the Universe (4th Edition)
4th Edition
ISBN: 9780134089089
Author: Jeffrey O. Bennett, Seth Shostak
Publisher: PEARSON
expand_more
expand_more
format_list_bulleted
Concept explainers
Question
Chapter 1, Problem 17TYU
To determine
Time taken by spacecraft to reach nearest star other than sun.
Expert Solution & Answer
Want to see the full answer?
Check out a sample textbook solution
Students have asked these similar questions
A light year (LY) is the distance that light travels in one year.
1 LY = 9.46x1015 m.
Suppose we have detected a planet that orbits a star that is 104 light
years away. How many millions of years would it take us to get there if
we used a modern rocket with a maximum speed of 20.0 km/s (about
45,000 mph)? Assume 3 sig figs.
Use the equation E = mc^2 where E is energy in Joules (J), m is mass in kilograms (kg) and c is the speed of light 3 x 10^8 m/s to answer the following: a) One ton of TNT releases 4.18 gigajoules of energy. The metric prefix giga means billion. a) How much mass would be required to release an equivalent amount of energy? b) How much energy (J) is equivalent to 1 kilogram of mass?
1 million kilometers can be expressed in scientific notation as:
10x10^6 km
10x10^-6 km
none of these
1x10^6 km
1x10^-6km
Chapter 1 Solutions
Life in the Universe (4th Edition)
Ch. 1 - Why are scientists interested in the possibility...Ch. 1 - People have long been interested in life beyond...Ch. 1 - Prob. 3RQCh. 1 - Prob. 4RQCh. 1 - What do we mean by a habitable world? Does a...Ch. 1 - What do we mean by the universality of physics and...Ch. 1 - Besides Earth, what worlds in our solar system...Ch. 1 - Prob. 8RQCh. 1 - Prob. 9RQCh. 1 - What do we mean by astrobiology? What are the...
Ch. 1 - An extrasolar planet is (a) a planet that is...Ch. 1 - A habitable planet is (a) a planet that has oceans...Ch. 1 - Prob. 13TYUCh. 1 - Prob. 14TYUCh. 1 - The correct order for the eight official planets...Ch. 1 - Today, the research known as SETI is conducted...Ch. 1 - Prob. 17TYUCh. 1 - Scientists today are interested in searching for...Ch. 1 - Based on current evidence, the object in our solar...Ch. 1 - Prob. 20TYUCh. 1 - Universal Laws. Briefly discuss how the idea that...Ch. 1 - The Science of Astrobiology. The study of...Ch. 1 - Conducting the Search. Given the large number of...Ch. 1 - Funding for Astrobiology. Imagine that you are a...
Knowledge Booster
Learn more about
Need a deep-dive on the concept behind this application? Look no further. Learn more about this topic, physics and related others by exploring similar questions and additional content below.Similar questions
- Suppose astronomers discover a radio message from a civilization whose planet orbits a star 35 lightyears away. Their message encourages us to send a radio answer, which we decide to do. Suppose our governing bodies take 2 years to decide whether and how to answer. When our answer arrives there, their governing bodies also take two of our years to frame an answer to us. How long after we get their first message can we hope to get their reply to ours? (A question for further thinking: Once communication gets going, should we continue to wait for a reply before we send the next message?)arrow_forwardWhich of the following appears to be a necessary ingredient for the development of life, intelligence, and civilization? Carbon atoms. An earth-like atmosphere and ocean. A sun-like star. Time. All of these.arrow_forwardAn isotope of a radioactive element has half-life equal to 9 thousand years. Imagine a sample that is so old that most of its radioactive atoms have decayed, leaving just 25 percent of the initial quantity of the isotope remaining. How old is the sample? Give your answer in thousands of years, correct to one decimal place.arrow_forward
- If the speed of light is given as 299,792,458 meters per second and the wavelength is 560 nm. what is the frequency of this light? Give your answer in THz!arrow_forwardSuppose you are talking by interplanetary telephone to a friend who lives on the Moon. He tells you that he has just won a newton of gold in a contest. Excitedly, you tell him that you entered the Earth version of the same contest and also won a newton of gold! Who is richer? (a) You are. (b) Your friend is. (c) You are equally rich.arrow_forwardA light-year is the distance that light can travel in one year. Similarly, we can define a light-second, light-day, etc. as the distance that light can travel in other time intervals. Calculate the distance represented by each of the following: (Assume that the speed of light is 3 x 10^8m/s) 5 light-minutes 6 light-days 6 light-days, but this time answer in miles (enter just the number with no units)arrow_forward
- 2arrow_forwardHow many times longer than the length of recorded history is the age of the universe? I was also given that the length of recorded history is 10E11 s, and that the age of the universe is 10E18 s. But, when putting 10E18/10E11 = 10E7, I get the wrong answer.arrow_forwardYour astronaut twin brother is exploring a planet of a star far out in space. Ignoring the time spent exploring the planet (during that time your watches run equally fast) also ignoring the time spent getting up to cruising speed, and slowing down for landing, (after all those times are very short compared to the time cruising,) how fast will that space ship have to cruise in order for your brother to age 2 years for every year you age?arrow_forward
- Suppose a human generation is defined as the average time from birth to childbearing, which is about 20 years long. How many generations have passed in the 200,000 years during which anatomically modern humans have existed?arrow_forwardYour friends are talking about Olber's Paradox: Friend 1: When the universe was quite young, it was also quite small, and therefore light was trapped inside the universe. This is why we don't see light from the edge of the universe in every direction. Friend 2: No, Olber's Paradox describes only light from stars, not from galaxies, and why you can't use light from distant stars to see at night. Friend 3: You're both right and you're both wrong. The paradox concerns itself with the expansion of the universe, and explains why light from the early universe was able to be released. Are any of them right, in part or in whole?arrow_forwardThe Apollo program (not the lunar missions with astronauts) being conducted at the Apache Point Observatory uses a 3.5 - m telescope to direct lasers at retro-reflectors left on the Moon by the Apollo astronauts. the Moon is 384, 472 km away approximately how long do the operators need to wait to see the laser light return to Earth? (Hint: The speed of light is 300,000 km/s.]arrow_forward
arrow_back_ios
SEE MORE QUESTIONS
arrow_forward_ios
Recommended textbooks for you
Foundations of Astronomy (MindTap Course List)PhysicsISBN:9781337399920Author:Michael A. Seeds, Dana BackmanPublisher:Cengage Learning
Stars and Galaxies (MindTap Course List)PhysicsISBN:9781337399944Author:Michael A. SeedsPublisher:Cengage Learning
An Introduction to Physical SciencePhysicsISBN:9781305079137Author:James Shipman, Jerry D. Wilson, Charles A. Higgins, Omar TorresPublisher:Cengage Learning
AstronomyPhysicsISBN:9781938168284Author:Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. WolffPublisher:OpenStax
Foundations of Astronomy (MindTap Course List)
Physics
ISBN:9781337399920
Author:Michael A. Seeds, Dana Backman
Publisher:Cengage Learning
Stars and Galaxies (MindTap Course List)
Physics
ISBN:9781337399944
Author:Michael A. Seeds
Publisher:Cengage Learning
An Introduction to Physical Science
Physics
ISBN:9781305079137
Author:James Shipman, Jerry D. Wilson, Charles A. Higgins, Omar Torres
Publisher:Cengage Learning
Astronomy
Physics
ISBN:9781938168284
Author:Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. Wolff
Publisher:OpenStax