Horizons: Exploring the Universe (MindTap Course List)
14th Edition
ISBN: 9781305960961
Author: Michael A. Seeds, Dana Backman
Publisher: Cengage Learning
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Chapter 12, Problem 9P
To determine
If astronomers made a mistake and measure a size of our solar system is 7.3kpc rather than 8.3kpc from the center of the galaxy and the orbital velocity of the sun is 225 km/s, we have to find the minimum mass of the galaxy.
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The Tully-Fischer method relies on being able to relate the mass of a galaxy to its rotation velocity. Stars in the outer-most regions of the Milky Way galaxy, located at a distance of 50 kpc from the galactic centre, are observed to orbit at a speed vrot = 250 km s−1. Using Kepler’s 3rd Law, determine the mass in the Milky Way that lies interior to 50 kpc. Express your answer in units of the Solar mass.
Figure 2 shows the "rotation curve" of
NGC 2742. It plots the “radial velocity
(V)" (how fast material is moving
either toward or away from us) that is
measured for objects at different
distances (R = radius") from the
center of the galaxy. The center of the
galaxy is at 0 kpc (kiloparsecs) with a
speed of 9 km/sec away from us.
(These velocities have been corrected
for the observed tilt of the galaxy and
represent true orbital velocities of the
stars and gas.)
200
100
U4779
-100
As you can see, one side of the galaxy
is moving with a negative velocity
(spinning toward us), while the other
side has a positive velocity (spinning
away from us). Using Newton's
gravity equation, we will be able to
determine the gravitational mass of the
entire galaxy and how the mass varies
versus distance from the galaxy's center.
-200
-8
8
-4
Radius (kpc)
Read the following text carefully and follow the instructions:
Select five radii spaced evenly from 0-10 kpc across the galaxy. Your selections should…
You observe a star orbiting in the outer parts of a galaxy. The distance to this galaxy is known, and
you are able to take a spectra of this star and determine its velocity. The star is 19 kpc from the
galaxy center and moving in a circular orbit with speed 382 km/s. Compute the total mass of the
galaxy internal to the star's orbit. You will get a large number; express it in scientific notation and in
units of solar masses [e.g., 4.2e10].
[Hint: there is a Box in Chapter 22 of your textbook that will be of help. See also the course formula
sheet.]
Chapter 12 Solutions
Horizons: Exploring the Universe (MindTap Course List)
Ch. 12 - Why is it difficult to specify the dimensions of...Ch. 12 - Why didn’t astronomers before Shapley realize how...Ch. 12 - Prob. 3RQCh. 12 - Prob. 4RQCh. 12 - Prob. 5RQCh. 12 - Prob. 6RQCh. 12 - Prob. 7RQCh. 12 - Prob. 8RQCh. 12 - Prob. 9RQCh. 12 - Prob. 10RQ
Ch. 12 - Prob. 11RQCh. 12 - Prob. 12RQCh. 12 - Prob. 13RQCh. 12 - Prob. 14RQCh. 12 - Prob. 15RQCh. 12 - Prob. 16RQCh. 12 - Prob. 1DQCh. 12 - Prob. 2DQCh. 12 - Prob. 1PCh. 12 - Prob. 2PCh. 12 - Prob. 3PCh. 12 - Prob. 4PCh. 12 - Prob. 5PCh. 12 - Prob. 6PCh. 12 - Prob. 7PCh. 12 - If the Sun is 4.6 billion years old, how many...Ch. 12 - Prob. 9PCh. 12 - Prob. 10PCh. 12 - Prob. 11PCh. 12 - Prob. 12PCh. 12 - Prob. 1LTLCh. 12 - Prob. 2LTL
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- n(r) = 1ge where r represents the distance from the centre of the Galaxy, Ro is the distance of the Sun from the centre of the Galaxy, Ra is the typical size of disk and no is the stellar density of disk at the position of the Sun. All distances are expressed in kpc. An astronomer observes the center of the Galaxy within a small field of view. We take a particular type of Red giant stars as the standard candles for the observation with approximately constant absolute magnitude of M = -0.2, (a) A telescope has a limiting magnitude of m = 18. Calculate the maximum distance to which this telescope can detect these red giant stars. For simplicity we ignore the presence of interstellar medium so there is no extinction. (b) Assume an extinction of 0.7 mag/kpc for the interstellar medium. Repeat the calculation as done in the part 5a and obtain a rough number for the maximum distance these red giant stars can be observed. (c) Give an expression for the number of these red giant stars per mag-…arrow_forwardIf astronomers were to find they have made a mistake and our solar system is actually 7.8 (rather than 8.2) kpc from the center of the galaxy, but the orbital velocity of the sun is still 240 km/s, what is the minimum mass of the galaxy? (Hint: Use Kepler's third law.)arrow_forwardgiven: a (distance to center of galaxy in AU) = 1,717,914,439 AU P (suns orbital period in years) = 203,782,828.3 years M (mass of milky way galaxy in solar masses) = 1.22 x 10^11 Msun Question: Assume the Milky Way Galaxy is made up entirely of stars like the Sun, i.e. on average each star has the mass of 1 MSun. Under this assumption, approximately how many stars are there in our galaxy? Express this answer in billions of stars (1 billion = 109).arrow_forward
- If astronomers find they have made a mistake and our Solar System is actually 7,350 pc rather than 8,300 pc from the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, but the orbital velocity of the Sun is still 225 km/s, what is the minimum mass (in solar masses, MSun) of the Galaxy within the orbit of the Sun?arrow_forwardYou observe the H-alpha line of Hydrogen in a distant galaxy to have a wavelength of 754.4 nm. What is the radial velocity of the galaxy? Hint: The rest wavelength of H-alpha is 656 nm. I have to use the forumla mentioned in the photo I shared with this post.arrow_forwardA Type la supernova explodes in a galaxy at a distance of 6.10×107 light-years from Earth. If astronomers detect the light from the supernova today, how many years T have passed since the supernova exploded? T= 2.07 x10 -5 years Given a Hubble constant of 74.3 km/s/Mpc, at what speed v is this galaxy moving away from Earth? v= km/s What is this galaxy's redshift? redshift:arrow_forward
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