Horizons: Exploring the Universe (MindTap Course List)
14th Edition
ISBN: 9781305960961
Author: Michael A. Seeds, Dana Backman
Publisher: Cengage Learning
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Chapter 10, Problem 6RQ
To determine
How star clusters confirm astronomers’ theories of stellar evolution?
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if the stars at the turnoff point in a star cluster have masses of about 9 M⊙, how old is the cluster (in yr)? (Hint: refer to the stellar life expectancies equation.)
If you assume that a globular cluster 6 arc minutes in diameter is actually 27 pc in diameter, how far away is it? (Hint: Use the small-angle formula.)
If an open cluster contains 650 stars and is 27 pc in diameter, what is the average distance between the stars? (Hint: On average, what share of the volume of the cluster surrounds each star?)
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Horizons: Exploring the Universe (MindTap Course List)
Ch. 10 - Why does helium fusion require a higher...Ch. 10 - Prob. 2RQCh. 10 - Prob. 3RQCh. 10 - Prob. 4RQCh. 10 - Prob. 5RQCh. 10 - Prob. 6RQCh. 10 - Prob. 7RQCh. 10 - Prob. 8RQCh. 10 - Prob. 9RQCh. 10 - Prob. 10RQ
Ch. 10 - Prob. 11RQCh. 10 - How can you explain the Algol paradox?Ch. 10 - Prob. 13RQCh. 10 - Prob. 14RQCh. 10 - Prob. 15RQCh. 10 - Prob. 16RQCh. 10 - Prob. 1DQCh. 10 - Prob. 2DQCh. 10 - Prob. 1PCh. 10 - Prob. 2PCh. 10 - Prob. 3PCh. 10 - Prob. 4PCh. 10 - Prob. 5PCh. 10 - Prob. 6PCh. 10 - Prob. 7PCh. 10 - Prob. 8PCh. 10 - Prob. 9PCh. 10 - Prob. 10PCh. 10 - Prob. 1LTLCh. 10 - Prob. 2LTLCh. 10 - Prob. 3LTL
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- Why are star clusters so useful for astronomers who want to study the evolution of stars?arrow_forwardExplain how an HR diagram of the stars in a cluster can be used to determine the age of the cluster.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_forwardAutomobiles are often used as an analogy to help people better understand how more massive stars have much shorter main-sequence lifetimes compared to less massive stars. Can you explain such an analogy using automobiles?arrow_forwardWhy is star formation more likely to occur in cold molecular clouds than in regions where the temperature of the interstellar medium is several hundred thousand degrees?arrow_forward
- If 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_forwardIn the HR diagrams for some young clusters, stars of both very low and very high luminosity are off to the right of the main sequence, whereas those of intermediate luminosity are on the main sequence. Can you offer an explanation for that? Sketch an HR diagram for such a cluster.arrow_forward
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