21st Century Astronomy
21st Century Astronomy
6th Edition
ISBN: 9780393428063
Author: Kay
Publisher: NORTON
bartleby

Concept explainers

Question
Book Icon
Chapter 6, Problem 41QP
To determine

The angular resolution on looking at interstellar molecules using space VLBI.

Blurred answer
Students have asked these similar questions
There are several spectral features that can be used to characterise galax- ies, including the Hydrogen-a emission at 656.3 nm and the Hydrogen- emission at 486.8 nm. For the Hydrogen-a emission, the spectrograph on the FET just gives sufficient resolution to resolve the emission line, which has a width of 100 km s¹. Calculate the ruling density necessary to observe the Hydrogen- ß emission line at the same resolution, if the observations are taken in first order and in 1-arcsecond seeing.
What is the ratio of the angular resolution limit of Keck to the angular resolution limit of HST? (Assume they are both observing at the same wavelength.)   [Compute the relevant ratio Keck/HST, express as a decimal, and enter below.] HST orbits at an altitude of 559 km above the Earth's surface. Assume its orbit is circular. Compute its orbital period in hours.   Compute its orbital speed (in km/s).
A cloud of gas has a temperature of 5,000 K. Estimate the width of the hydrogen H-alpha line with an intrinsic wavelength λ = 656 nm. (Note: the typical velocity of hydrogen atoms in a gas with temperature T is about (kT/mH)1/2, where k is Boltzmann constant and mH is the mass of a hydrogen atom, which is approximately the mass of a proton).
Knowledge Booster
Background pattern image
Physics
Learn more about
Need a deep-dive on the concept behind this application? Look no further. Learn more about this topic, physics and related others by exploring similar questions and additional content below.
Similar questions
SEE MORE QUESTIONS
Recommended textbooks for you
  • Text book image
    Astronomy
    Physics
    ISBN:9781938168284
    Author:Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. Wolff
    Publisher:OpenStax
Text book image
Astronomy
Physics
ISBN:9781938168284
Author:Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. Wolff
Publisher:OpenStax