(a) The average distance between the two stars.

Question

Want to see the full answer?

Answer 1

Question

Chapter 20, Problem 41Q

To determine

(a)

The average distance between the two stars.

To determine

(b)

The comparison of the separation between the two stars as obtained in part (a) to the orbital sizes of Mercury, Venus, and Earth.

Expert Solution & Answer

Want to see the full answer?

Check out a sample textbook solution

See solution

Students have asked these similar questions

White Dwarf Size II. The white dwarf, Sirius B, contains 0.98 solar mass, and its density is about 2 x 106 g/cm?. Find the radius of the white dwarf in km to three significant digits. (Hint: Density = mass/volume, and the volume of a 4 sphere is Tr.) 3 km Compare your answer with the radii of the planets listed in the Table A-10. Which planet is this white dwarf is closely equal to in size? I Table A-10 I Properties of the Planets ORBITAL PROPERTIES Semimajor Axis (a) Orbital Period (P) Average Orbital Velocity (km/s) Orbital Inclination Planet (AU) (106 km) (v) (days) Eccentricity to Ecliptic Mercury 0.387 57.9 0.241 88.0 47.9 0.206 7.0° Venus 0.723 108 0.615 224.7 35.0 0.007 3.4° Earth 1.00 150 1.00 365.3 29.8 0.017 Mars 1.52 228 1.88 687.0 24.1 0.093 1.8° Jupiter 5.20 779 11.9 4332 13.1 0.049 1.30 Saturn 9.58 1433 29.5 10,759 9.7 0.056 2.5° 30,799 60,190 Uranus 19.23 2877 84.3 6.8 0.044 0.8° Neptune * By definition. 30.10 4503 164.8 5.4 0.011 1.8° PHYSICAL PROPERTIES (Earth = e)…

Using the center-of-mass equations or the Center of Mass Calculator (under Binary-Star Basics, above), you will investigate a specific binary-star system. Assume that Star 1 has m₁ = 3.4 solar masses, Star 2 has m₂ = 1.4 solar masses, and the total separation of the two (R) is 52 AU. (One AU is Earth's average distance from the Sun.) (a)What is the distance, d₁, (in AU) from Star 1 to the center of mass? AU (b)What is the distance, d2, (in AU) from Star 2 to the center of mass? AU

The Algol binary system consists of a 3.7 Msun star and a 0.8 Msun star with an orbital period of 2.87 days. Using Newton’s version of Kepler’s Third Law, calculate the distance, a, between the two stars. Compare that to the size of Betelgeuse (you’ll need to look that up). Newton’s Version of Kepler’s Law: (M1 + M2) P2 = (4p2 /G) a3 Rearrange the equation to solve for a. Pi, p, is equal to 3.14. IMPORTANT NOTE: Google the value of G (the Universal Gravitational Constant) or look it up in your text. NOTICE THE UNITS. You must convert every distance and time in your equation to the same units, otherwise, you’ll get an incorrect answer. That means you must convert distances to meters, solar masses to kilograms, and time to seconds. When you compare your value to the size of Betelgeuse, it will also help that they are in the same units.