Astronomy
1st Edition
ISBN: 9781938168284
Author: Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. Wolff
Publisher: OpenStax
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Textbook Question
Chapter 20, Problem 38E
Dust was originally discovered because the stars in certain clusters seemed to be fainter than expected. Suppose a star is behind a cloud of dust that dims its brightness by a factor of 100. Suppose you do not realize the dust is there. How much in error will your distance estimate be? Can you think of any measurement you might make to detect the dust?
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An O8 V star has an apparent visual magnitude of +5. Use the method of spectroscopic parallax to estimate the distance to the star (in pc). (Hints: Refer to one of the H–R diagrams in the chapter, and use the magnitude–distance formula,
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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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