Understanding Our Universe
3rd Edition
ISBN: 9780393614428
Author: PALEN, Stacy, Kay, Laura, Blumenthal, George (george Ray)
Publisher: W.w. Norton & Company,
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Question
Chapter 14, Problem 24QAP
To determine
Corroboration of the statement that the stars in globular clusters are among the oldest stars in our galaxy.
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Students have asked these similar questions
Hotter, more massive stars are virtually absent from globular clusters. What does this tell us?
a) Only that for some reason, massive stars never formed in these clusters.
b) Globular clusters are among the youngest objects in our galaxy.
c) Globular clusters are among the oldest objects in the Galaxy.
If the RR Lyrae stars in a globular cluster have average apparent magnitudes of +19, how far away (in pc) is the cluster? (Hints: See the following figure, and use the magnitude-distance formula: d = 10(mv - My+5)/5.)
Туре
(Classical)
Cepheids
104
103
Туре II
Cepheids
102
RR Lyrae stars
0.3
1
10
30
100
Pulsation perlod (days)
pc
Absolute magnitude
Luminosity, L L.
Chapter 14 Solutions
Understanding Our Universe
Ch. 14.1 - Prob. 14.1CYUCh. 14.2 - Prob. 14.2CYUCh. 14.3 - Prob. 14.3CYUCh. 14.4 - Prob. 14.4CYUCh. 14 - Prob. 1QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 2QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 3QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 4QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 5QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 6QAP
Ch. 14 - Prob. 7QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 8QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 9QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 10QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 11QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 12QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 13QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 14QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 15QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 16QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 17QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 18QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 19QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 20QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 21QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 22QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 23QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 24QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 25QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 27QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 28QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 29QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 30QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 31QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 32QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 33QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 34QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 35QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 36QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 37QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 38QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 39QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 40QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 41QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 43QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 44QAPCh. 14 - Prob. 45QAP
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- Explain why the abundances of heavy elements in stars correlate with their positions in the Galaxy.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_forwardIf all the stars in a cluster have nearly the same age, why are clusters useful in studying evolutionary effects (different stages in the lives of stars)?arrow_forward
- Consider the following five kinds of objects: open cluster, giant molecular cloud, globular cluster, group of O and B stars, and planetary nebulae. A. Which occur only in spiral arms? B. Which occur only in the parts of the Galaxy other than the spiral arms? C. Which are thought to be very young? D. Which are thought to be very old? E. Which have the hottest stars?arrow_forwardIf the Sun were a member of the cluster NGC 2264, would it be on the main sequence yet? Why or why not?arrow_forwardYou can use the equation in Exercise 22.34 to estimate the approximate ages of the clusters in Figure 22.10, Figure 22.12, and Figure 22.13. Use the information in the figures to determine the luminosity of the most massive star still on the main sequence. Now use the data in Table 18.3 to estimate the mass of this star. Then calculate the age of the cluster. This method is similar to the procedure used by astronomers to obtain the ages of clusters, except that they use actual data and model calculations rather than simply making estimates from a drawing. How do your ages compare with the ages in the text? Figure 22.10 NGC 2264 HR Diagram. Compare this HR diagram to that in Figure 22.8; although the points scatter a bit more here, the theoretical and observational diagrams are remarkably, and satisfyingly, similar. Figure 22.12 Cluster M41. (a) Cluster M41 is older than NGC 2264 (see Figure 22.10) and contains several red giants. Some of its more massive stars are no longer close to the zero-age main sequence (red line). (b) This ground-based photograph shows the open cluster M41. Note that it contains several orange-color stars. These are stars that have exhausted hydrogen in their centers, and have swelled up to become red giants. (credit b: modification of work by NOAO/AURA/NSF) Figure 22.13 HR Diagram for an Older Cluster. We see the HR diagram for a hypothetical older cluster at an age of 4.24 billion years. Note that most of the stars on the upper part of the main sequence have turned off toward the red-giant region. And the most massive stars in the cluster have already died and are no longer on the diagram. Characteristics of Main-Sequence Starsarrow_forward
- In which of these star groups would you mostly likely find the least heavy-element abundance for the stars within them: open clusters, globular clusters, or associations?arrow_forwardWhy are star clusters so useful for astronomers who want to study the evolution of stars?arrow_forwardThe star cluster shown in this image contains a few red giants as well as main-sequence stars ranging from spectral type B to M. Discuss the likelihood that exoplanets orbiting any of these stars might be home to life. (Hint: Estimate the age of the cluster.)arrow_forward
- Calculate the mass-to-light ratio for a globular cluster with a luminosity of 106LSunand 105 stars. (Assume that the average mass of a star in such a cluster is 1 MSun.)arrow_forwardUsing the information provided in Table 18.1, what is the average stellar density in our part of the Galaxy? Use only the true stars (types OM) and assume a spherical distribution with radius of 26 light-years. Stars within 21 Light-Years of the Sunarrow_forwardHow can the Crab Nebula shine with the energy of something like 100,000 Suns when the star that formed the nebula exploded almost 1000 years ago? Who “pays the bills” for much of the radiation we see coming from the nebula?arrow_forward
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