21st Century Astronomy
6th Edition
ISBN: 9780393428063
Author: Kay
Publisher: NORTON
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Question
Chapter 13, Problem 39QP
To determine
The distance between Polaris and Sirius
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Students have asked these similar questions
The nearest star to our sun is Proxima Centauri, at a distance of 4.3 light-years from the Sun. A light-year is the distance that light travels in one year (365 days). How far away, in kilometers, is Proxima Centauri from the Sun?Express your answer using two significant figures.
In the parallax method of determining stellar distances, the angle to a star is measured while
the earth is on one side of the sun and then again six months later, as in the diagram below.
Assume the earth-sun distance is 1 Astronomical Unit. The parallax angle of Alpha Centauri
is 0= 2.1 x 10-4 ° . Find the distance from the sun to a Centauri in light years. Assume a
circular orbit for the Earth.
a Centauri
Earth (June)
Earth (December)
Sun
Distance from
Apparent Brightness (rank;
brightest, 8 = dimmest)
Name of Star
Earth (light years) | 1 =
Sun
Sirius
8.6
Canopus
Arcturus
309
3.
36.7
4
Rigel
Vega
Alpha Centauri
Bernard's Star
773
5
25.3
4.3
7
5.9
8
13 What sentence explains why a star can be much farther from Earth than
the Sun, but still be bright?
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A. Distance from Earth and apparent brightness are related.
B. Bright stars that are farther away are larger than the Sun.
C. The higher it appears in the sky, the brighter the star.
D. The apparent brightness scale goes up as stars get dimmer.
del sdT
Chapter 13 Solutions
21st Century Astronomy
Ch. 13.1 - Prob. 13.1CYUCh. 13.2 - Prob. 13.2CYUCh. 13.3 - Prob. 13.3CYUCh. 13.4 - Prob. 13.4CYUCh. 13 - Prob. 1QPCh. 13 - Prob. 2QPCh. 13 - Prob. 3QPCh. 13 - Prob. 4QPCh. 13 - Prob. 5QPCh. 13 - Prob. 6QP
Ch. 13 - Prob. 7QPCh. 13 - Prob. 8QPCh. 13 - Prob. 9QPCh. 13 - Prob. 10QPCh. 13 - Prob. 11QPCh. 13 - Prob. 12QPCh. 13 - Prob. 13QPCh. 13 - Prob. 14QPCh. 13 - Prob. 15QPCh. 13 - Prob. 16QPCh. 13 - Prob. 17QPCh. 13 - Prob. 18QPCh. 13 - Prob. 19QPCh. 13 - Prob. 20QPCh. 13 - Prob. 21QPCh. 13 - Prob. 22QPCh. 13 - Prob. 23QPCh. 13 - Prob. 24QPCh. 13 - Prob. 25QPCh. 13 - Prob. 26QPCh. 13 - Prob. 27QPCh. 13 - Prob. 28QPCh. 13 - Prob. 29QPCh. 13 - Prob. 30QPCh. 13 - Prob. 31QPCh. 13 - Prob. 32QPCh. 13 - Prob. 33QPCh. 13 - Prob. 34QPCh. 13 - Prob. 35QPCh. 13 - Prob. 36QPCh. 13 - Prob. 37QPCh. 13 - Prob. 38QPCh. 13 - Prob. 39QPCh. 13 - Prob. 40QPCh. 13 - Prob. 41QPCh. 13 - Prob. 42QPCh. 13 - Prob. 43QPCh. 13 - Prob. 44QPCh. 13 - Prob. 45QP
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- Earth is about 150 million kilometers from the Sun (1 Astronomical Unit, or AU), and the apparent brightness of the Sun in our sky is about 1300 watts/m^2. Using these two facts and the inverse square law for light, determine the apparent brightness that we would measure for the Sun if we were located at the following positions. b) At the orbit of Jupiter (780 million km from the Sun).arrow_forwardEarth is about 150 million kilometers from the Sun (1 Astronomical Unit, or AU), and the apparent brightness of the Sun in our sky is about 1300 watts/m^2. Using these two facts and the inverse square law for light, determine the apparent brightness that we would measure for the Sun if we were located at the following positions. a) At the orbit of Venus (67 million km from the Sun). b) At the orbit of Jupiter (780 million km from the Sun). c) At the mean distance of Pluto (40 Astronomical Units).arrow_forwardA star has a measured radial velocity of 100 km/s. If you measure the wavelength of a particular spectral line of Hydrogen as 486.42 nm, what was the laboratory wavelength (in nm) of the line? (Round your answer to at least one decimal place.) Which spectral line does this likely correspond to? Balmer-alpha (656.3 nm) Balmer-beta (486.1 nm) Balmer-gamma (434.0 nm) Balmer-delta (410.2 nm)arrow_forward
- Earth is about 150 million kilometers from the Sun (1 Astronomical Unit, or AU), and the apparent brightness of the Sun in our sky is about 1300 watts/m2. Using these two facts and the inverse square law for light, determine the apparent brightness that we would measure for the Sun if we were located at the following positions. a) At the orbit of Jupiter (780 million km from the Sun).arrow_forward"51 Pegasi" is the name of the first normal star (besides the Sun) around which a planet was discovered. It is in the constellation Pegasus the horse. Its parallax is measured to be 0.064 arcsec. a. What is its distance from us? b. The apparent brightness is 1.79 × 10-10 J/(s·m2 ). What is the luminosity? How does that compare with that of the Sun? Look up the temperature: how doarrow_forwardThe star Sirius has an apparent magnitude of -1.46 and appears 95-times brighter compared tothe more distant star Tau Ceti, which has an absolute magnitude of 5.69.(a) Explain the terms apparent magnitude, absolute magnitude and bolometric magnitude.(b) Calculate the apparent magnitude of the star Tau Ceti.(c) Find the distance between the Earth and Tau Ceti.www.arrow_forward
- A star has a measured radial velocity of 300 km/s. If you measure the wavelength of a particular spectral line of Hydrogen as 657.18 nm, what was the laboratory wavelength (in nm) of the line? (Round your answer to at least one decimal place.) nm Which spectral line does this likely correspond to? Balmer-alpha (656.3 nm) Balmer-beta (486.1 nm) Balmer-gamma (434.0 nm) Balmer-del ta (410.2 nm)arrow_forwardAs we read in the book, a star that appears to be 1 magnitude brighter will have approximately 2.5 times as much flux hitting an observer's detector/telescope/eye (i.e. a star with an apparent magnitude of 4 has approximately 2.5 times more flux hitting the detector as a star with an apparent magnitude of 5). With this in mind what is the approximate ratio of the flux hitting the a detector for a star with an apparent magnitude of 3 compared to a star with an apparent magnitude of 7? (hint: remember that magnitudes follow a logarithmic scale, not a linear one)arrow_forwardLet us imagine that the spectrum of a star is collected and we find the absorption line of Hydrogen-Alpha (the deepest absorption line of hydrogen in the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum) to be observed at 656.5 nm instead of 656.3 nm as measured in a lab here on Earth. What is the velocity of this star in m/s? (Hint: speed of light is 3*10^8 m/s; leave the units off of your answer) Question 4 of 7 A Moving to another question will save this response. 1 6:59 & backsarrow_forward
- Let us imagine that the spectrum of a star is collected and we find the absorption line of Hydrogen-Alpha (the deepest absorption line of hydrogen in the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum) to be observed at 656.5 nm instead of 656.3 nm as measured in a lab here on Earth. What is the velocity of this star in m/s? (Hint: speed of light is 3*10^8 m/s; leave the units off of your answer)arrow_forwardbtw, the Sirius absolute magnitude is 1.4 The apparent V magnitude of Sirius is -1.44. What is its distance in parsecs? Use your estimate of its absolute magnitude from question 1. d = pcarrow_forwardStar A has an apparent magnitude of –1.5 and is 12.6 light-years from Earth. Star B has an apparent magnitude of 0.4 and is 15.6 light-years from Earth. Why should apparent magnitude NOT be used to determine which star is brighter? What information could help you determine which star is brighter?arrow_forward
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