21st Century Astronomy (sixth Edition)
6th Edition
ISBN: 9780393675504
Author: Laura Kay, Stacy Palen, George Blumenthal
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
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Chapter 15, Problem 20QP
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Relate the temperature difference between boiling water and hot oven with million kelvin regions of the interstellar medium.
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(a) Rank the following components of the interstellar medium in order of the wavelengths at which they are observed, longest wavelength first: clouds of neutral hydrogen, coronal gas, interstellar dust, nebulae. Longest to Shortest?
(b) Rank the same material in order of decreasing temperature from hottest to coolest. Hottest to Coolest?
Explain why interstellar molecules are best observed at radio wavelengths.
What evidence can you cite that the interstellar medium contains both gas and dust? (Select all that apply.)
(1)The dust of the interstellar medium can be detected from the emission lines of elements heavier than iron.
(2)The dust of the interstellar medium can be detected by the extinction of light from distant stars.
(3)The dust of the interstellar medium can be detected by the scattering of blue light from distant or embedded objects.
(4)The gas of the interstellar medium can be detected from the radiation of ultraviolet photons.
(5)The gas of the interstellar medium can be detected from the radiation of photons of wavelength 21 cm.
(6)The gas of the interstellar medium can be detected from the absorption lines present in the light from distant stars, which must be caused by a medium of a density and temperature other than that of the stars emitting the light.
Chapter 15 Solutions
21st Century Astronomy (sixth Edition)
Ch. 15.1 - Prob. 15.1CYUCh. 15.2 - Prob. 15.2CYUCh. 15.3 - Prob. 15.3CYUCh. 15.4 - Prob. 15.4CYUCh. 15 - Prob. 1QPCh. 15 - Prob. 2QPCh. 15 - Prob. 3QPCh. 15 - Prob. 4QPCh. 15 - Prob. 5QPCh. 15 - Prob. 6QP
Ch. 15 - Prob. 7QPCh. 15 - Prob. 8QPCh. 15 - Prob. 9QPCh. 15 - Prob. 10QPCh. 15 - Prob. 11QPCh. 15 - Prob. 12QPCh. 15 - Prob. 13QPCh. 15 - Prob. 14QPCh. 15 - Prob. 15QPCh. 15 - Prob. 16QPCh. 15 - Prob. 17QPCh. 15 - Prob. 18QPCh. 15 - Prob. 19QPCh. 15 - Prob. 20QPCh. 15 - Prob. 21QPCh. 15 - Prob. 22QPCh. 15 - Prob. 23QPCh. 15 - Prob. 24QPCh. 15 - Prob. 25QPCh. 15 - Prob. 26QPCh. 15 - Prob. 27QPCh. 15 - Prob. 28QPCh. 15 - Prob. 29QPCh. 15 - Prob. 30QPCh. 15 - Prob. 31QPCh. 15 - Prob. 32QPCh. 15 - Prob. 33QPCh. 15 - Prob. 35QPCh. 15 - Prob. 36QPCh. 15 - Prob. 37QPCh. 15 - Prob. 38QPCh. 15 - Prob. 39QPCh. 15 - Prob. 40QPCh. 15 - Prob. 41QPCh. 15 - Prob. 42QPCh. 15 - Prob. 43QPCh. 15 - Prob. 44QPCh. 15 - Prob. 45QP
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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
- Describe how the 21-cm line of hydrogen is formed. Why is this line such an important tool for understanding the interstellar medium?arrow_forwardConsider a grain of sand that contains 1 mg of oxygen (a typical amount for a medium-sized sand grain, since sand is mostly SiO2). How many oxygen atoms does the grain contain? What is the radius of the sphere you would have to spread them out over if you wanted them to have the same density as the interstellar medium, about 1 atom per cm3? You can look up the mass of an oxygen atom.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_forward
- The mass of the interstellar medium is determined by a balance between sources (which add mass) and sinks (which remove it). Make a table listing the major sources and sinks, and briefly explain each one.arrow_forwardWhere does interstellar dust come from? How does it form?arrow_forwardPrepare a table listing the different ways in which dust and gas can be detected in interstellar space.arrow_forward
- Describe the characteristics of the various kinds of interstellar gas (HII regions, neutral hydrogen clouds, ultra-hot gas clouds, and molecular clouds).arrow_forwardHow are giant molecular clouds (GMCs), the loci of most star formation, themselves formed out of diffuse interstellar gas? What processes determine the distribution of physical conditions within star-forming regions, and why does star formation occur in only a small fraction of the available gas? How is the rate at which stars form determined by the properties of the natal GMC or, on a larger scale, of the interstellar medium (ISM) in a galaxy? What determines the mass distribution of forming stars, the initial mass function (IMF)? Most stars form in clusters (Lada & Lada 2003); how do stars form in such a dense environment and in the presence of enormous radiative and mechanical feedback from other YSOs?arrow_forwardWhat factors resist the contraction of a cloud of interstellar matter?arrow_forward
- At the low temperature found in some interstellar molecular clouds (around 100 K), molecular oxygen emission is strongest at a wavelength of 0.2521 cm. Determine the speed (in km/s) of a low temperature molecular cloud containing molecular oxygen if its strongest emission is at a wavelength of 0.1885 cm. Note that this cloud is moving towards us, so the answer should be negative.arrow_forwardBased on what you know about observations of the interstellar medium at wavelengths other than for visible light, select all of the correct statements from the following list. -The 21-cm radio observations are of neutral hydrogen. -Much interstellar dust between stars is not visible. -The source of hot gas observed at X-ray wavelengths is not known. -All interstellar material is cool. -Interstellar dust is observed at ultraviolet wavelengths. -Giant molecular clouds consist mostly of CO molecules. -Material observed at wavelengths longer than that of visible light is usually cool.arrow_forwardSome interstellar Properties. Use excel calculator to fill in the missing figures. 1 ly = 365 × 24 × 60 × 60 × 300, 000km/s = 9.46 × 10^12 kmarrow_forward
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