Foundations of Astronomy (MindTap Course List)
14th Edition
ISBN: 9781337399920
Author: Michael A. Seeds, Dana Backman
Publisher: Cengage Learning
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Chapter 10, Problem 13RQ
To determine
Check whether molecular, atomic, or interstellar dust would see in abundance on looking at stars along a line of sight about 90degree away from the central plane of Milky Way and state the reason.
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Which of the following statements best describes our galaxy, the Milky Way?
O A bulge dominated system, with little or no disk, approximately 27,000 light years across.
A disk 100,000 lightyears across filled with gas and stars, with a bulge of older stars in the galaxy centre.
A disk 27,000 light years across with a bulge of gas and newly formed stars in the galaxy centre.
O A spherical (elliptical) galaxy, 100,000 lightyears across, with no gas and no new stars.
How are giant molecular clouds (GMCs), the loci of most star formation, themselves formed out of diffuse interstellar gas?
What processes determine the distribution of physical conditions within star-forming regions, and why does star formation occur in only a small fraction of the available gas?
How is the rate at which stars form determined by the properties of the natal GMC or, on a larger scale, of the interstellar medium (ISM) in a galaxy?
What determines the mass distribution of forming stars, the initial mass function (IMF)?
Most stars form in clusters (Lada & Lada 2003); how do stars form in such a dense environment and in the presence of enormous radiative and mechanical feedback from other YSOs?
What evidence can you cite that the interstellar medium contains both gas and dust? (Select all that apply.)
(1)The dust of the interstellar medium can be detected from the emission lines of elements heavier than iron.
(2)The dust of the interstellar medium can be detected by the extinction of light from distant stars.
(3)The dust of the interstellar medium can be detected by the scattering of blue light from distant or embedded objects.
(4)The gas of the interstellar medium can be detected from the radiation of ultraviolet photons.
(5)The gas of the interstellar medium can be detected from the radiation of photons of wavelength 21 cm.
(6)The gas of the interstellar medium can be detected from the absorption lines present in the light from distant stars, which must be caused by a medium of a density and temperature other than that of the stars emitting the light.
Chapter 10 Solutions
Foundations of Astronomy (MindTap Course List)
Ch. 10 - Prob. 1RQCh. 10 - Prob. 2RQCh. 10 - Prob. 3RQCh. 10 - Prob. 4RQCh. 10 - Prob. 5RQCh. 10 - Prob. 6RQCh. 10 - Prob. 7RQCh. 10 - Prob. 8RQCh. 10 - Prob. 9RQCh. 10 - Prob. 10RQ
Ch. 10 - Prob. 11RQCh. 10 - Prob. 12RQCh. 10 - Prob. 13RQCh. 10 - Why is the ISM transparent at near-infrared and...Ch. 10 - Prob. 15RQCh. 10 - Prob. 16RQCh. 10 - Prob. 17RQCh. 10 - Prob. 18RQCh. 10 - Prob. 19RQCh. 10 - Prob. 20RQCh. 10 - Prob. 21RQCh. 10 - Name two processes (or objects) that remove...Ch. 10 - Prob. 23RQCh. 10 - Prob. 24RQCh. 10 - Prob. 25RQCh. 10 - Prob. 1PCh. 10 - Prob. 2PCh. 10 - Prob. 3PCh. 10 - Prob. 4PCh. 10 - The number density of air in a childs balloon is...Ch. 10 - Calculate the frequency in megahertz (MHz) of the...Ch. 10 - Prob. 7PCh. 10 - Prob. 8PCh. 10 - Prob. 9PCh. 10 - Prob. 10PCh. 10 - Prob. 1SOPCh. 10 - Prob. 2SOPCh. 10 - Prob. 1LTLCh. 10 - Prob. 2LTLCh. 10 - Prob. 3LTLCh. 10 - Prob. 4LTLCh. 10 - Prob. 5LTL
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- A molecular cloud is about 1000 times denser than the average of the interstellar medium. Let’s compare this difference in densities to something more familiar. Air has a density of about 1 kg/m3, so something 1000 times denser than air would have a density of about 1000 kg/m3. How does this compare to the typical density of water? Of granite? (You can find figures for these densities on the internet.) Is the density difference between a molecular cloud and the interstellar medium larger or smaller than the density difference between air and water or granite?arrow_forwardThe mass of the interstellar medium is determined by a balance between sources (which add mass) and sinks (which remove it). Make a table listing the major sources and sinks, and briefly explain each one.arrow_forwardAssume that dark matter is uniformly distributed throughout the Milky Way, not just in the outer halo but also throughout the bulge and in the disk, where the solar system lives. How much dark matter would you expect there to be inside the solar system? Would you expect that to be easily detectable? Hint: For the radius of the Milky Way’s dark matter halo, use R=300,000 light-years; for the solar system’s radius, use 100 AU; and start by calculating the ratio of the two volumes.arrow_forward
- How would the density inside a cold cloud (T=10K) compare with the density of the ultra-hot interstellar gas (T=106K) if they were in pressure equilibrium? (It takes a large cloud to be able to shield its interior from heating so that it can be at such a low temperature.) (Hint: In pressure equilibrium, the two regions must have nT equal, where n is the number of particles per unit volume and T is the temperature.) Which region do you think is more suitable for the creation of new stars? Why?arrow_forwardWhere does interstellar dust come from? How does it form?arrow_forward(a) Rank the following components of the interstellar medium in order of the wavelengths at which they are observed, longest wavelength first: clouds of neutral hydrogen, coronal gas, interstellar dust, nebulae. Longest to Shortest? (b) Rank the same material in order of decreasing temperature from hottest to coolest. Hottest to Coolest?arrow_forward
- The Milky Way galaxy has about 5 x 10⁹ solar masses of gas in total. If 13 solar masses of that gas is turned into stars each year, how many more years could the Milky Way keep up with such a star formation rate? years (Note for comparison that the age of the universe is about 13.5 billion years, which can be written 1.35e10 years. Also, the value given is in the ballpark of how much gas in the Milky Way is used to make new stars each year.)arrow_forwardIf you want to find a sizeable collection of Population Il stars in the Milky Way Galaxy, where would be a good place to look? A. near the Sun B. in a globular cluster high above the Galaxy's disk C. in the Orion Spur D.on the outer surface of giant molecular clouds E. in an open cluster, especially one with a lot of dust in and around itarrow_forwardImagine that you have achieved immortality and you used it to travel outside of the Milky Way (you will be leaving today and you will be traveling with the speed of 1/10th of the speed of light). Describe how the Milky Way would look from the outside if you could watch it for the next 100 billion years.arrow_forward
- Suppose that stars were born at random times over the last 1010 years. The rate of star formation is simply the number of stars divided by 1010 years. The fraction of stars with detected extrasolar planets is at least 11 %. The rate of star formation can be multiplied by this fraction to find the rate planet formation. How often (in years) does a planetary system form in our galaxy? Assume the Milky Way contains 3 × 1011 stars.arrow_forwardAs we discussed, clouds are made of a great many small drops. Really - a great many. Imagine a liquid cloud that fills a volume of 1 km3. The clouds contains 100 drops per cubic centimeter; for the sake of argument assume that each is 10 microns (micrometers) in radius. A. How many drops does the cloud contain? Compare this to a big number - say, the number of stars in the galaxy. B. What mass of water does the cloud contain? Compare this to something big - elephants, trucks, that sort of thing. C. What fraction of the cloud volume is filled with condensed water? One way to approach this is to compare the density of the suspended liquid water to the density of the surrounding air. D. How many 1 mm drizzle drops could you make from all the cloud drops? E. How much energy was released when this water condensed from vapor to liquid? If the water condensed in 20 minutes (a reasonable lifetime for a small cloud), what was the (energy per time)? powerarrow_forwardIf the active core of a galaxy contains a black hole of 106?Θ (1 million solar masses), what will the orbital velocity be for matter orbiting the black hole at a distance of 0.33 AU? (Hint: use the formula for orbital velocity: ?=√???; where ?=6.67×10−11 ?3?? ?2 and ?Θ= 2.0×1030 ??. Note: 1 ??=1.50×1011 ?)arrow_forward
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