ESSENTIAL COSMIC PERS.-W/MASTER.ACCESS
9th Edition
ISBN: 9780135795750
Author: Bennett
Publisher: PEARSON
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Chapter 15, Problem 37EAP
To determine
To Discuss: The key observations that led the scientists to know about the location of the Sun within Milky Way.
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Listed below are some distances from Earth to other objects in the Milky Way galaxy. Convert each
distance to light-years. (Each of these distances is less than one light-year. For an added challenge,
convert each distance to light minutes or light seconds.)
1.
The distance from Earth to the Moon is about 384,400 km. How many light-years is this?
2.
The distance from Earth to Mars is about 784,000,000 km. How many light-years is this?
3.
The distance from Earth to Pluto is about 5,750,000,000 km. How many light-years is this?
Estimating the mass of the Milky Way
a) Assuming the Sun moves in a circular orbit of radius 8 kiloparsecs around the center of the Milky Way, and that its orbital speed
is 220 km/s, calculate how many years it takes the Sun to complete one orbit of the Galaxy. Remember to convert kiloparsecs to
kilometers.
b) Using the modified form of Kepler's third law (introduced in Lecture 13, for measuring the combined masses of binary stars),
R³
m+ M = estimate the mass of the Milky Way enclosed within 8 kpc (Sun's orbit radius). The mass of the Milky Way inside
p²
I
the Sun's orbit can be represented as a single mass (M) located at its center, and the mass of the Sun (m) can be considered
infinitesimally small compared to the Milky Way's (i.e., m < M).
c) Is this estimate of the Milky Way's mass an upper or lower limit? Explain your reasoning.
Which of the following statements best describes our galaxy, the Milky Way?
O A bulge dominated system, with little or no disk, approximately 27,000 light years across.
A disk 100,000 lightyears across filled with gas and stars, with a bulge of older stars in the galaxy centre.
A disk 27,000 light years across with a bulge of gas and newly formed stars in the galaxy centre.
O A spherical (elliptical) galaxy, 100,000 lightyears across, with no gas and no new stars.
Chapter 15 Solutions
ESSENTIAL COSMIC PERS.-W/MASTER.ACCESS
Ch. 15 - Prob. 1VSCCh. 15 - Prob. 2VSCCh. 15 - Prob. 3VSCCh. 15 - Prob. 4VSCCh. 15 - Prob. 5VSCCh. 15 - Prob. 6VSCCh. 15 - Prob. 1EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 2EAPCh. 15 - 3. Describe and contrast stellar orbits in the...Ch. 15 - Prob. 4EAP
Ch. 15 - Prob. 5EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 6EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 7EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 8EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 9EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 10EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 11EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 12EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 13EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 14EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 15EAPCh. 15 - We did not understand the true size and shape of...Ch. 15 - Prob. 17EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 18EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 19EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 20EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 21EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 22EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 23EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 24EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 25EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 26EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 27EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 28EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 29EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 30EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 31EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 32EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 33EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 34EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 35EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 37EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 38EAPCh. 15 - Galactic Ecosystem. We have likened the...Ch. 15 - Galaxy Stuff. In the chapters on stars, we learned...Ch. 15 - Prob. 42EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 43EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 44EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 45EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 46EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 47EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 48EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 50EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 51EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 52EAPCh. 15 - Prob. 53EAP
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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
- I answer is not 100, I also tried 21. I need help! Thank you!arrow_forwardStars form in the Milky Way at a rate of about 1 solar mass per year. At this rate, how long would it take for all the interstellar gas in the Milky Way to be turned into stars if there were no fresh gas coming in from outside? How does this compare to the estimated age of the universe, 14 billion years? What do you conclude from this?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_forward
- Suppose the Milky Way was a band of light extending only halfway around the sky (that is, in a semicircle). What, then, would you conclude about the Sun’s location in the Galaxy? Give your reasoning.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_forwardBased upon the evolution of stars, place the following elements in order of least to most common in the Galaxy: gold, carbon, neon. What aspects of stellar evolution formed the basis for how you ordered the elements?arrow_forward
- Explain why we see the Milky Way as a faint band of light stretching across the sky.arrow_forwardWhat does it mean to say that the universe is expanding? What is expanding? For example, is your astronomy classroom expanding? Is the solar system? Why or why not?arrow_forwardSuppose the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy merges completely with the Milky Way and adds 150,000 stars to it. Estimate the percentage change in the mass of the Milky Way. Will this be enough mass to affect the orbit of the Sun around the galactic center? Assume that all of the Sagittarius galaxy’s stars end up in the nuclear bulge of the Milky Way Galaxy and explain your answer.arrow_forward
- Briefly describe the main parts of our Galaxy.arrow_forwardSuppose the stars in an elliptical galaxy all formed within a few million years shortly after the universe began. Suppose these stars have a range of masses, just as the stars in our own galaxy do. How would the color of the elliptical change over the next several billion years? How would its luminosity change? Why?arrow_forwardThe Milky Way grew through merging with many smaller galaxies. What are the observational signatures of this process? O The motion of old stars in the bulge and halo of our galaxy are randomly orientated, meaning they were formed from collisions of small, accreted, galaxies all on different paths. O The ordered motion of the bulge / halo stars means that they came from many objects. The random motions of stars in the disk means it was formed from collisions of small, accreted, galaxies. O The motion of young stars in the disk are all in the same direction, meaning they came in as seperate objects.arrow_forward
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