21st Century Astronomy
6th Edition
ISBN: 9780393428063
Author: Kay
Publisher: NORTON
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Question
Chapter 15, Problem 3QP
To determine
The composition of which object which is close to the interstellar medium in the Sun’s region.
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Students have asked these similar questions
Astronomers have observed a small, massive object at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. A ring of material orbits this massive object; the ring has a diameter of about 16 light-years and an orbital speed of about 160 km/s. (a) Determine the mass of the object at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. Give your answer both in kilograms and in solar masses (one solar mass is the mass of the sun). (b) Observations of stars, as well as theories of the structure of stars, suggest that it is impossible for a single star to have a mass of more than about 50 solar masses. Can this massive object be a single, ordinary star? (c) Many astronomers believe that the massive object at the center of the Milky Way galaxy is a black hole. If so, what must the Schwarzschild radius of this black hole be? Would a black hole of this size fit inside the earth’s orbit around the sun?
The Messier Catalog is
a. a listing of all the stars within the Local Bubble
b. a list of all the HII listings visible without a telescope
c. a list of nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies that might be mistaken for a comet far from the sun
d. a list of regions where dark clouds large numbers of molecules can be found
Our sun was born approximately 4.6 billion years ago.
How many journeys around the centre of our galaxy has the sun made?
21
25
35
50
Chapter 15 Solutions
21st Century Astronomy
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
- The distance from the Sun to the nearest star is about 4 1016 m. The Milky Way galaxy (Fig. P1.31) is roughly a disk of diameter 1021 in and thickness 1019 m. Find the order of magnitude of the number of stars in the Milky Way. Assume the distance between the Sun and our nearest neighbor is typical. Figure P1.31 The Milky Way galaxy.arrow_forwardIf the Sun is 4.6 billion years old, how many times has it orbited the galaxy?arrow_forwardStars originate as large bodies of slowly rotating gas. Because of gravity, these clumps of gas slowly decrease in size. The angular velocity of a star increases as it shrinks because ofarrow_forward
- The Drake Equation is a tool for estimating ... A) the number of alien civilizations that have visited the Earth in the past B) the number of planets in the Milky Way that contain civilizations intelligent enough to communicate through space. C) the number of habitable planets in the Milky Way where life has developedarrow_forwardThe diameter of our disk-shaped galaxy, the Milky Way, is about 1.0×105light-years. The distance to the Andromeda galaxy, which is the spiral galaxynearest to the Milky Way, is about 2.5 million light-years. If a scale modelrepresents the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies as dinner plates 20 cm indiameter, determine the distance between the centers of the two plates.arrow_forwardWhat is at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy?arrow_forward
- The solar system is 25,000 light years from the center of our Milky Way galaxy. One light year is the distance light travels in one year at a speed of 3.0×108m/s. Astronomers have determined that the solar system is orbiting the center of the galaxy at a speed of 230 km/s. The approximate mass of the galactic center was calculated to be 1.88*1041 kg. Assume that the sun is a typical star with a typical mass. If galactic matter is made up of stars, approximately how many stars are in the center of the galaxy? Note : Astronomers have spent many years trying to determine how many stars there are in the Milky Way. The number of stars seems to be only about 10% of what you'll find in part d. In other words, about 90% of the mass of the galaxy appears to be in some form other than stars. This is called the dark matter of the universe. No one knows what the dark matter is. This is one of the outstanding scientific questions of our day.arrow_forwardAstronomers have observed a small, massive object at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. A ring of material orbits this massive object; the ring has a diameter of about 17 light-years and an orbital speed of about 100 km/s. A) Determine the mass M of the massive object at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. Give your answer in kilograms.Express your answer in kilograms. B) Give your answer in solar masses (one solar mass is the mass of the sun). Express your answer in units of solar masses. C) Many astronomers believe that the massive object at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy is a black hole. If so, what must the Schwarzschild radius RS of this black hole be? Express your answer in meters.arrow_forwardAn astronomical unit (AU) is defined as the average distance between the solar system and Alpha Centauri the Earth and the Moon the Milky Way Galaxy and the Andromeda Galaxy the Earth and the Sunarrow_forward
- Radio maps of our galaxy show spiral arms because a. the arms have larger Doppler shifts. b. the gas in the spiral arms is very hot. c. the dust in spiral arms is denser. d. the gas in spiral arms is denser. e. the stars in the spiral arms emit most of their energy at radio wavelengths.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
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