The Physical Universe
15th Edition
ISBN: 9780073513928
Author: Konrad Krauskopf, Arthur Beiser
Publisher: MCGRAW-HILL HIGHER EDUCATION
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Chapter 18, Problem 16MC
To determine
The approximate distance of Proxima centauri
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The nearest star to our sun is Proxima Centauri, at a distance of 4.3 light-years from the Sun. A light-year is the distance that light travels in one year (365 days). How far away, in kilometers, is Proxima Centauri from the Sun?Express your answer using two significant figures.
The 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.
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Chapter 18 Solutions
The Physical Universe
Ch. 18 - Prob. 1MCCh. 18 - Prob. 2MCCh. 18 - Prob. 3MCCh. 18 - Prob. 4MCCh. 18 - Prob. 5MCCh. 18 - Prob. 6MCCh. 18 - Prob. 7MCCh. 18 - Prob. 8MCCh. 18 - Prob. 9MCCh. 18 - Prob. 10MC
Ch. 18 - Prob. 11MCCh. 18 - Prob. 12MCCh. 18 - Prob. 13MCCh. 18 - Prob. 14MCCh. 18 - Prob. 15MCCh. 18 - Prob. 16MCCh. 18 - If we know both the luminosity and brightness of a...Ch. 18 - Prob. 18MCCh. 18 - Prob. 19MCCh. 18 - Prob. 20MCCh. 18 - Prob. 21MCCh. 18 - Prob. 22MCCh. 18 - Prob. 23MCCh. 18 - Prob. 24MCCh. 18 - Prob. 25MCCh. 18 - Prob. 26MCCh. 18 - Prob. 27MCCh. 18 - Prob. 28MCCh. 18 - Prob. 29MCCh. 18 - Prob. 30MCCh. 18 - Prob. 31MCCh. 18 - Prob. 32MCCh. 18 - Prob. 33MCCh. 18 - Prob. 34MCCh. 18 - Prob. 35MCCh. 18 - Prob. 36MCCh. 18 - Prob. 37MCCh. 18 - Prob. 38MCCh. 18 - Prob. 39MCCh. 18 - Black holes are remnants of a. stars with small...Ch. 18 - Prob. 1ECh. 18 - Prob. 2ECh. 18 - Prob. 3ECh. 18 - Prob. 4ECh. 18 - Prob. 5ECh. 18 - Prob. 6ECh. 18 - Prob. 7ECh. 18 - Prob. 8ECh. 18 - Prob. 9ECh. 18 - Prob. 10ECh. 18 - Prob. 11ECh. 18 - Prob. 12ECh. 18 - Prob. 13ECh. 18 - Prob. 14ECh. 18 - Prob. 15ECh. 18 - Prob. 16ECh. 18 - Prob. 17ECh. 18 - Prob. 18ECh. 18 - Prob. 19ECh. 18 - Prob. 20ECh. 18 - Prob. 21ECh. 18 - Prob. 22ECh. 18 - Prob. 23ECh. 18 - Prob. 24ECh. 18 - Prob. 25ECh. 18 - Prob. 26ECh. 18 - Prob. 27ECh. 18 - Prob. 28ECh. 18 - Prob. 29ECh. 18 - Prob. 30ECh. 18 - Prob. 31ECh. 18 - Prob. 32ECh. 18 - Prob. 33ECh. 18 - Prob. 34ECh. 18 - Prob. 35ECh. 18 - Prob. 36ECh. 18 - Prob. 37ECh. 18 - Prob. 38ECh. 18 - Prob. 39ECh. 18 - Prob. 40ECh. 18 - Prob. 41ECh. 18 - Prob. 42ECh. 18 - Prob. 43ECh. 18 - Prob. 44ECh. 18 - Prob. 45ECh. 18 - Prob. 46ECh. 18 - Prob. 47ECh. 18 - Prob. 48ECh. 18 - Prob. 49ECh. 18 - Prob. 50ECh. 18 - Prob. 51ECh. 18 - Prob. 52ECh. 18 - Prob. 53ECh. 18 - Prob. 54ECh. 18 - Prob. 55ECh. 18 - How large are black holes? Can any star evolve...Ch. 18 - Prob. 57ECh. 18 - Prob. 58E
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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
- Light travels at a rate of approximately 186,000 miles per second. A light-year is the distance light travels in one year. The North Star is approximately 460 light-years away from Earth. How many years would it take for a spaceship traveling at 1 million miles per hour to reach the North Star?arrow_forwardA scientist, using a telescope, sees arcs of light around a galaxy. In 3–5 sentences, explain the cause of the arcs of light.arrow_forwardThe distance to Rigel is 776.2 light years. Convert this distance to astronomical units.arrow_forward
- Earth is about 150 million kilometers from the Sun (1 Astronomical Unit, or AU), and the apparent brightness of the Sun in our sky is about 1300 watts/m2. Using these two facts and the inverse square law for light, determine the apparent brightness that we would measure for the Sun if we were located at the following positions. a) At the mean distance of Pluto (40 Astronomical Units).arrow_forwardA typical galaxy is shown on the first page of the Universe Bowl on the inside cover of the printed book. Express the number of stars in this typical galaxy in scientific notation.arrow_forwardDo 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.arrow_forward
- Compare the following stages in the lives of a human being and a star: prenatal, birth, adolescence/ adulthood, middle age, old age, and death. What does a star with the mass of our Sun do in each of these stages?arrow_forwardTwo stars have proper motions of one arcsecond per year. Star A is 20 light-years from Earth, and Star B is 10 light-years away from Earth. Which one has the faster velocity in space?arrow_forwardExplain why we see the Milky Way as a faint band of light stretching across the sky.arrow_forward
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