Astronomy
1st Edition
ISBN: 9781938168284
Author: Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. Wolff
Publisher: OpenStax
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Textbook Question
Chapter 20, Problem 10E
Why can’t we use visible light telescopes to study molecular clouds where stars and planets form? Why do infrared or radio telescopes work better?
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5. The two images below show a portion of the Trifid Nebula. The image on the left was
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Problem 2. Thermal Energy of the Gas Giants: Energy Radiated by Saturn (Palen, et. al., 1st Edition, Chapter 8, problems 40, 62)
The equilibrium temperature (Links to an external site.) for Saturn should be 82 K but instead we find an average temperature of 95 K.
How much more energy is Saturn radiating into space than it absorbs from the sun?
Does this violate the law of conservation of energy?
What is the source of this additional energy?
How are giant molecular clouds (GMCs), the loci of most star formation, themselves formed out of diffuse interstellar gas?
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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)?
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Chapter 20 Solutions
Astronomy
Ch. 20 - Identify several dark nebulae in photographs in...Ch. 20 - Why do nebulae near hot stars look red? Why do...Ch. 20 - Describe the characteristics of the various kinds...Ch. 20 - Prepare a table listing the different ways in...Ch. 20 - Describe how the 21-cm line of hydrogen is formed....Ch. 20 - Describe the properties of the dust grains found...Ch. 20 - Why is it difficult to determine where cosmic rays...Ch. 20 - What causes reddening of starlight? Explain how...Ch. 20 - Why do molecules, including H2 and more complex...Ch. 20 - Why can’t we use visible light telescopes to study...
Ch. 20 - The mass of the interstellar medium is determined...Ch. 20 - Where does interstellar dust come from? How does...Ch. 20 - Figure 20.2 shows a reddish glow around the star...Ch. 20 - If the red glow around Antares is indeed produced...Ch. 20 - Even though neutral hydrogen is the most abundant...Ch. 20 - The terms H II and H2 are both pronounced “H two.”...Ch. 20 - Suppose someone told you that she had discovered H...Ch. 20 - Describe the spectrum of each of the following: A....Ch. 20 - According to the text, a star must be hotter than...Ch. 20 - From the comments in the text about which kinds of...Ch. 20 - One way to calculate the size and shape of the...Ch. 20 - New stars form in regions where the density of gas...Ch. 20 - Thinking about the topics in this chapter, here is...Ch. 20 - Stars form in the Milky Way at a rate of about 1...Ch. 20 - The 21-cm line can be used not just to find out...Ch. 20 - Astronomers recently detected light emitted by a...Ch. 20 - We can detect 21-cm emission from other galaxies...Ch. 20 - We have said repeatedly that blue light undergoes...Ch. 20 - Suppose that, instead of being inside the Local...Ch. 20 - Suppose that, instead of being inside the Local...Ch. 20 - A molecular cloud is about 1000 times denser than...Ch. 20 - Would you expect to be able to detect an H II...Ch. 20 - Suppose that you gathered a ball of interstellar...Ch. 20 - At the average density of the interstellar medium,...Ch. 20 - Consider a grain of sand that contains 1 mg of...Ch. 20 - H II regions can exist only if there is a nearby...Ch. 20 - In the text, we said that the five-times ionized...Ch. 20 - Dust was originally discovered because the stars...Ch. 20 - How would the density inside a cold cloud (T=10K)...Ch. 20 - The text says that the Local Fluff, which...
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- What causes reddening of starlight? Explain how the reddish color of the Sun’s disk at sunset is caused by the same process.arrow_forwardA 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_forwardConsider a grain of sand that contains 1 mg of oxygen (a typical amount for a medium-sized sand grain, since sand is mostly SiO2). How many oxygen atoms does the grain contain? What is the radius of the sphere you would have to spread them out over if you wanted them to have the same density as the interstellar medium, about 1 atom per cm3? You can look up the mass of an oxygen atom.arrow_forward
- The current precision of the Doppler shifts in the absorption lines in stellar spectra is ~3 km s-'. Show that it would not be possible to detect the presence of the Earth from a distant solar system using the Doppler method. State one method that might allow the Earth to be detected. (The Earth's mass is 1/333 000 that of the Sun. 1 AU = 1.49× 10"m.) 2.arrow_forwardIf the hottest star in the Carina Nebula has a surface temperature of 51,000 K, at what wavelength (in nm) does it radiate the most energy? Hint: Use Wien's law: ?max = 2.90 ✕ 106 nm · K T How does that compare with 91.2 nm, the wavelength of photons with just enough energy to ionize hydrogen? -The wavelength calculated above is shorter than 91.2 nm. Photons at this calculated wavelength will have more than enough energy to ionize hydrogen. -The wavelength calculated above is longer than 91.2 nm. Photons at this calculated wavelength will have more than enough energy to ionize hydrogen. -The wavelength calculated above is shorter than 91.2 nm. Photons at this calculated wavelength will not have enough energy to ionize hydrogen. -The wavelength calculated above is longer than 91.2 nm. Photons at this calculated wavelength will not have enough energy to ionize hydrogen.arrow_forwardAbsorption lines produced by interstellar gas a. are wider than the lines from stars because the gas is hotter than most stars. b. are more narrow than the lines from stars because the gas has a lower pressure than stars. c. indicate that the interstellar medium contains dust. d. indicate that the interstellar medium is expanding away from the sun. e. indicate nothing; none of the above statements are true.arrow_forward
- Some interstellar Properties. Use excel calculator to fill in the missing figures. 1 ly = 365 × 24 × 60 × 60 × 300, 000km/s = 9.46 × 10^12 kmarrow_forwardLet’s say you’re looking for extrasolar planets. You observe a star that has a spectral shift in the line that is supposed to be at at 656.28011 nm – this star shows this line at 656.28005 nm. What is the radial velocity of star (in m/s) and in what direction in relation to you? a) 27.4 m/s, towards b) 27.4 km/s, away c) -27.4 m/s, toward d) -27.4 km/s, awayarrow_forwardWhere does interstellar dust come from? How does it form?arrow_forward
- The 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_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_forwardA) A typical dust grain has a radius of about 0.1 micrometers and a mass of 10-14 grams. Roughly how many dust particles are in a cloud containing 1000 Msun of dusty gas if 1% of the cloud's mass is in the form of dust grains? B) What surface area would be covered by these grains if you put them side by side? Assume these grains are spherical. Answer in square light-years. C) Estimate the total surface area covered by the cloud assuming it's matter density is like that of a typical molecular cloud, about 10-21 g/cm3 (Hint: first calculate the clouds volume from it's mass and density, then determine its radius using the formula for volume of a sphere) Answer in square light-years. D) Comparing all above answers, What are the chances (very roughly) that a photon passing through the cloud will hit a dust grain?arrow_forward
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