Stars and Galaxies
9th Edition
ISBN: 9781305120785
Author: Michael A. Seeds, Dana Backman
Publisher: Cengage Learning
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Chapter 1, Problem 6RQ
Why are light-years more convenient than miles, kilometers, or AU for measuring the distances to stars and galaxies?
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What is the distance in meters to our Sun that is 500 light-seconds away?
Recall that Hubble’s Law is given by V=HR; this means that H has units of inverse seconds (1/sec). A convenient laboratory set of units is to give H in km per sec per megaparsec. A parsec is 3.26 light years and the speed of light is 3 X 105 km/sec. Use 3.156 X 107 sec/yr. The first data off the then new Hubble Space telescope suggested a value of H equal to 108 km per sec per megaparsec. What is H in inverse seconds? Hint divide by the number of km in a megaparsec.
Choose a unit distance in cm that would easily fit on a piece of paper. Let this be your scale distance, now divide your scale distance by 4.3 light years to get the scale that will allow you to convert between real distances and distances in your model. Scale = cm / 4.3 ly = cm / ly
Chapter 1 Solutions
Stars and Galaxies
Ch. 1 - Prob. 1RQCh. 1 - Prob. 2RQCh. 1 - Prob. 3RQCh. 1 - What is the difference between the Moon and a...Ch. 1 - Prob. 5RQCh. 1 - Why are light-years more convenient than miles,...Ch. 1 - Prob. 7RQCh. 1 - Prob. 8RQCh. 1 - Prob. 9RQCh. 1 - What are the largest known structures in the...
Ch. 1 - Prob. 12RQCh. 1 - Prob. 13RQCh. 1 - Prob. 14RQCh. 1 - Prob. 15RQCh. 1 - Prob. 16RQCh. 1 - Prob. 1PCh. 1 - The equatorial diameter of the Moon is 3476...Ch. 1 - Prob. 3PCh. 1 - A typical galaxy is shown on the first page of the...Ch. 1 - Prob. 5PCh. 1 - Prob. 6PCh. 1 - Prob. 7PCh. 1 - Prob. 8PCh. 1 - If the speed of light is 3.0 105 km/s, how many...Ch. 1 - Prob. 10PCh. 1 - How long does it take light to cross the diameter...Ch. 1 - Prob. 12PCh. 1 - Prob. 13PCh. 1 - Prob. 1LLCh. 1 - Prob. 2LLCh. 1 - Prob. 3LLCh. 1 - Prob. 5LLCh. 1 - Prob. 6LL
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- Most distances in the Galaxy are measured in light-years instead of meters. Why do you think this is the case?arrow_forwardHuman civilization is about 10,000 years old as measured by the development of agriculture. If your telescope collects starlight tonight that has been traveling for 10,000 years, is that star inside or outside our Milky Way Galaxy? Is it likely that the star has changed much during that time?arrow_forwardThe dwarf galaxy in Sagittarius is the one closest to the Milky Way, yet it was discovered only in 1994. Can you think of a reason it was not discovered earlier? (Hint: Think about what else is in its constellation.)arrow_forward
- If the speed of light is 3.0 × 105 km/s, how many kilometers are in a light-year? How many meters? (Hint: First look up or calculate how many seconds are in a year.)arrow_forwardT/ F The distance unit best for interstellar distances is the light-year. ___ The distance unit best for intergalactic distances is the mega-parsec. ___arrow_forwardA parsec is an astronomical unit of distance where 1 parsec = 3.26 light years (1 light year equals the distance traveled by light in one year). If the speed of light is 186,000 mi/s, calculate the distance in meters of an object that travels 7.5 parsecs. marrow_forward
- Find the approximate mass of the luminous matter in the Milky Way galaxy, given it has approximately 1011 stars of average mass 1.5 times that of our Sun.arrow_forwardUsing a single dimensional equation, estimate the number of steps it would take a person with a step length of 2.65 ft to walk from the Earth to Alpha Centauri a distance of 4.37 light-years. The speed of light is 1.86282 x 105 miles/s. Number of Steps = Enter your answer in accordance to the question statement x 1017arrow_forwardHow many parsecs are there in 212 light-years?arrow_forward
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