Universe: Stars And Galaxies
6th Edition
ISBN: 9781319115098
Author: Roger Freedman, Robert Geller, William J. Kaufmann
Publisher: W. H. Freeman
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Chapter 1, Problem 32Q
To determine
(a)
To calculate:
The distance of Altair in km.
To determine
(b)
The time is taken by light to reach earth from Altair.
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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.
Suppose we find an Earth-like planet around one of our nearest stellar neighbors, Alpha Centauri (located only 4.4 light-years away). If we launched a "generation ship" at a constant speed of 1500.00 km/s from Earth with a group of people whose descendants will explore and colonize this planet, how many years before the generation ship reached Alpha Centauri? (Note there are 9.46 ××1012 km in a light-year and 31.6 million seconds in a year.
- How far (in km) is 3.5 lightyears(ly) – the distance traveled by light in one Earth year?
- How much is this same value in parsecs and (C) in astronomical units (AU)?
Use 299,732 km/s for the speed of light (c) and 1 year = 365 days.
Show your solution and write your answer in both regular notation and scientific notation.
Chapter 1 Solutions
Universe: Stars And Galaxies
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