The star 58 Eridani is a feint but naked-eye star similar to the Sun. Suppose that you are observing this star in the night sky without a telescope. Ignoring any interstellar extinction or atmospheric absorption, approximately how many photons per second arrive at your retina? Show all steps in your calculation. Look up any required information about the star using Wikipedia. Use sensible approximations so your calculation is straightforward. For example you could consider only the region of the spectrum where the photon flux peaks. b) The Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI, camera and spectrograph) on the James Webb Space Telescope operates in the band 5 – 28 µm. For 58 Eridani, approximately how many photons per second can be used by this instrument? Assume that MIRI takes all the photons from the full JWST mirror. Show all steps in your calculation. Describe briefly two or three other factors which play a role in determining the sensitivity of an instrument such as MIRI?
a) The star 58 Eridani is a feint but naked-eye star similar to the Sun. Suppose that you are observing this star in the night sky without a telescope. Ignoring any interstellar extinction or atmospheric absorption, approximately how many photons per second arrive at your retina? Show all steps in your calculation. Look up any required information about the star using Wikipedia. Use sensible approximations so your calculation is straightforward. For example you could consider only the region of the spectrum where the photon flux peaks.
b) The Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI, camera and spectrograph) on the James Webb Space Telescope operates in the band 5 – 28 µm. For 58 Eridani, approximately how many photons per second can be used by this instrument? Assume that MIRI takes all the photons from the full JWST mirror. Show all steps in your calculation. Describe briefly two or three other factors which play a role in determining the sensitivity of an instrument such as MIRI?
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