1st Edition

ISBN: 9781938168284

Author: Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. Wolff

Publisher: OpenStax

Concept explainers

We may see thousands of stars in the dark sky. Our universe consists of billions of stars. Stars may appear tiny to us but they are huge balls of gasses. Sun is a star of average size. Some stars are even a thousand times larger than the sun. The stars d…

Red Shift

It is an astronomical phenomenon. In this phenomenon, increase in wavelength with corresponding decrease in photon energy and frequency of radiation of light. It is the displacement of spectrum of any kind of astronomical object to the longer wavelengths…

Textbook Question

Chapter 17, Problem 38E

Do the previous problem again, this time using the information that the Sun is 150,000,000 km away. You will get a very large number of km as your answer. To get a better feeling for how the distances compare, try calculating the time it takes light at a speed of 299,338 km/s to travel from the Sun to Earth and from Alpha Centauri to Earth. For Alpha Centauri, figure out how long the trip will take in years as well as in seconds.

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Chapter 17, Problem 37E

Chapter 17, Problem 39E

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Chapter 17 Solutions

Astronomy

Ch. 17 - What two factors determine how bright a star...Ch. 17 - Explain why color is a measure of a star’s...Ch. 17 - What is the main reason that the spectra of all...Ch. 17 - What elements are stars mostly made of? How do we...Ch. 17 - What did Annie Cannon contribute to the...Ch. 17 - Name five characteristics of a star that can be...Ch. 17 - How do objects of spectral types L, T, and Y...Ch. 17 - Do stars that look brighter in the sky have larger...Ch. 17 - The star Antares has an apparent magnitude of 1.0,...Ch. 17 - Based on their colors, which of the following...

Ch. 17 - Order the seven basic spectral types from hottest...Ch. 17 - What is the defining difference between a brown...Ch. 17 - If the star Sirius emits 23 times more energy than...Ch. 17 - How would two stars of equal luminosity-one blue...Ch. 17 - Table 17.2 lists the temperature ranges that...Ch. 17 - Suppose you are given the task of measuring the...Ch. 17 - Star X has lines of ionized helium in its...Ch. 17 - The spectrum of the Sun has hundreds of strong...Ch. 17 - What are the approximate spectral classes of stars...Ch. 17 - Look at the chemical elements in Appendix K. Can...Ch. 17 - Appendix I lists some of the nearest stars. Are...Ch. 17 - Appendix J lists the stars that appear brightest...Ch. 17 - What star appears the brightest in the sky (other...Ch. 17 - Suppose hominids one million years ago had left...Ch. 17 - Why can only a lower limit to the rate of stellar...Ch. 17 - Why do you think astronomers have suggested three...Ch. 17 - Sam, a college student, just bought a new car....Ch. 17 - Would a red star have a smaller or larger...Ch. 17 - Two stars have proper motions of one arcsecond per...Ch. 17 - Suppose there are three stars in space, each...Ch. 17 - What would you say to a friend who made this...Ch. 17 - In Appendix J, how much more luminous is the most...Ch. 17 - Verify that if two stars have a difference of five...Ch. 17 - As seen from Earth, the Sun has an apparent...Ch. 17 - An astronomer is investigating a faint star that...Ch. 17 - The center of a faint but active galaxy has...Ch. 17 - You have enough information from this chapter to...Ch. 17 - Do the previous problem again, this time using the...Ch. 17 - Star A and Star B have different apparent...Ch. 17 - Star A and Star B have different apparent...Ch. 17 - The star Sirius A has an apparent magnitude of 1.5...Ch. 17 - Our Sun, a type G star, has a surface temperature...

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