Foundations Of Astronomy, Loose-leaf Version
13th Edition
ISBN: 9781305637986
Author: Michael A. Seeds, Dana Backman
Publisher: Brooks Cole
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Chapter 12, Problem 28RQ
To determine
The method to estimate the age of a star cluster.
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The difference in absolute magnitude between two objects is related to their fluxes by the flux-magnitude relation:
FA / FB = 2.51(MB - MA)
A distant galaxy contains a supernova with an absolute magnitude of -19. If this supernova were placed next to our Sun (M = +4.8) and you observed both of them from the same distance, how much more flux would the supernova emit than the Sun?
Fsupernova / FSun = ?
An O8 V star has an apparent visual magnitude of +5. Use the method of spectroscopic parallax to estimate the distance to the star (in pc). (Hints: Refer to one of the H–R diagrams in the chapter, and use the magnitude–distance formula,
d = 10(mV − MV + 5)/5
where d is the distance in parsecs, mV and MV are the apparent and absolute visual magnitude respectively.)
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 12 Solutions
Foundations Of Astronomy, Loose-leaf Version
Ch. 12 - Prob. 1RQCh. 12 - Prob. 2RQCh. 12 - Prob. 3RQCh. 12 - Prob. 4RQCh. 12 - Prob. 5RQCh. 12 - Describe the law of hydrostatic equilibrium.Ch. 12 - Prob. 7RQCh. 12 - Prob. 8RQCh. 12 - Prob. 9RQCh. 12 - Prob. 10RQ
Ch. 12 - Prob. 11RQCh. 12 - Prob. 12RQCh. 12 - Prob. 13RQCh. 12 - Prob. 14RQCh. 12 - Prob. 15RQCh. 12 - Prob. 16RQCh. 12 - Prob. 17RQCh. 12 - Prob. 18RQCh. 12 - Prob. 19RQCh. 12 - What gives the triple-alpha process its name? Why...Ch. 12 - Prob. 21RQCh. 12 - Prob. 22RQCh. 12 - Prob. 23RQCh. 12 - Prob. 24RQCh. 12 - Prob. 25RQCh. 12 - Prob. 26RQCh. 12 - Prob. 27RQCh. 12 - Prob. 28RQCh. 12 - Prob. 29RQCh. 12 - Prob. 30RQCh. 12 - Prob. 31RQCh. 12 - How Do We Know? How can mathematical models allow...Ch. 12 - Prob. 1DQCh. 12 - Prob. 2DQCh. 12 - Prob. 3DQCh. 12 - Prob. 4DQCh. 12 - Prob. 5DQCh. 12 - Prob. 6DQCh. 12 - Prob. 1PCh. 12 - Prob. 2PCh. 12 - Prob. 3PCh. 12 - Prob. 4PCh. 12 - Prob. 5PCh. 12 - Prob. 6PCh. 12 - Prob. 7PCh. 12 - Prob. 8PCh. 12 - Prob. 9PCh. 12 - Prob. 10PCh. 12 - Prob. 11PCh. 12 - Prob. 12PCh. 12 - Prob. 13PCh. 12 - Prob. 14PCh. 12 - Prob. 15PCh. 12 - Prob. 16PCh. 12 - Prob. 1LTLCh. 12 - Prob. 2LTLCh. 12 - Prob. 3LTLCh. 12 - Prob. 4LTLCh. 12 - Prob. 5LTL
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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
- Explain how an HR diagram of the stars in a cluster can be used to determine the age of the cluster.arrow_forwardAre supergiant stars also extremely massive? Explain the reasoning behind your answer.arrow_forwardAstronomers find that 90% of the stars observed in the sky are on the main sequence of an HR diagram; why does this make sense? Why are there far fewer stars in the giant and supergiant region?arrow_forward
- In 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_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_forwardIf you were to compare three stars with the same surface temperature, with one star being a giant, another a supergiant, and the third a main-sequence star, how would their radii compare to one another?arrow_forward
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