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 19, Problem 43QP
To determine
The number of solar masses the quasar consumes per year to maintain its average energy output.
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An astronomical image shows two objects that have the same apparent magnitude, i.e., the same brightness. However, spectroscopic follow up observations indicate that while one is a star that is within our galaxy, at a distance dgal away, and has the same luminosity as the Sun, the other is a quasar and has 100x the luminosity of the entire Milky Way galaxy. What is the distance to the quasar? (You may assume, for this rough calculation, that the Milky Way has 1011 stars and that they all have the luminosity as the Sun.) Give your response in Mpc. Value: dgal = 49 pc
Suppose a quasar is shining with a luminosity L. What is the approximate minimal mass of the black hole? (If the black hole had a lower mass than this, the pressure in the material would overcome the gravity of the black hole and the material would be blown apart.) Give your answer in solar masses, in scientific notation to one significant figure (no decimal places).
Value:
L=1×10^12Lsun
Suppose the quasar in the previous problem is 10% efficient at turning rest mass into energetic photons, according to Einstein's equation E=mc2. What is the necessary rate of accretion of mass onto this black hole, to sustain its luminosity of 1* 1012 solar luminosities -- i.e. how much mass must be 'fed' to this black hole to keep the AGN shining so brightly?
Give your response in units of solar masses of material per year, with one decimal place.
A Cepheid variable in the Andromeda galaxy has a period of 22 days and a mean apparent magnitude of19.5.(a) Calculate the distance modulus of the Andromeda galaxy.(b) Given that the Andromeda galaxy is approaching the Milky Way with a velocity of 119 km/s, roughlyestimate how long before these two galaxies collide? Provide your answer in years.
Chapter 19 Solutions
21st Century Astronomy (sixth Edition)
Ch. 19.1 - Prob. 19.1ACYUCh. 19.1 - Prob. 19.1BCYUCh. 19.2 - Prob. 19.2CYUCh. 19.3 - Prob. 19.3CYUCh. 19.4 - Prob. 19.4CYUCh. 19 - Prob. 1QPCh. 19 - Prob. 2QPCh. 19 - Prob. 3QPCh. 19 - Prob. 4QPCh. 19 - Prob. 5QP
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- Consider the following five kinds of objects: open cluster, giant molecular cloud, globular cluster, group of O and B stars, and planetary nebulae. A. Which occur only in spiral arms? B. Which occur only in the parts of the Galaxy other than the spiral arms? C. Which are thought to be very young? D. Which are thought to be very old? E. Which have the hottest stars?arrow_forwardA Type la supernova explodes in a galaxy at a distance of 6.10×107 light-years from Earth. If astronomers detect the light from the supernova today, how many years T have passed since the supernova exploded? T= 2.07 x10 -5 years Given a Hubble constant of 74.3 km/s/Mpc, at what speed v is this galaxy moving away from Earth? v= km/s What is this galaxy's redshift? redshift:arrow_forwardIf Hubble’s constant is taken to be 70 ??? ???, and a quasar is found to have a radial velocity equal to 95% of the speed of light, how far is the quasar in Mpc? (Hint: Use Hubble’s Law and solve for the distance; and the speed of light in vacuum is: ?=3.0×105 ??/?).arrow_forward
- The hydrogen Balmee lime Hb has a wavelength of 4.86.1 nm. It is shifted to 55.8 nm in a quasar's spectrum. What is the redshift of the quasar?arrow_forwardWhat is the redshift of this quasar?arrow_forwardThe hydrogen Balmer line Hβ has a wavelength of 486.1 nm. It is shifted to 579.8 nm in a quasar's spectrum. What is the redshift of this quasar? (Hint: What is Δλ?)arrow_forward
- Observations of quasars have shown us that many are extremely _________, emitting more energy than all the stars in a galaxy. The energy they give off comes from a very small volume, typically about the size of ___________. Some have long ______, shooting off in opposite directions. Today, astronomers understand that all the properties of quasars can be explained if they are __________ at the centers of galaxies. Astronomers can use _____________ to study images and spectra of the central regions of galaxies more clearly than earlier instruments.arrow_forwardPlease helparrow_forwardFigure 2 shows the "rotation curve" of NGC 2742. It plots the “radial velocity (V)" (how fast material is moving either toward or away from us) that is measured for objects at different distances (R = radius") from the center of the galaxy. The center of the galaxy is at 0 kpc (kiloparsecs) with a speed of 9 km/sec away from us. (These velocities have been corrected for the observed tilt of the galaxy and represent true orbital velocities of the stars and gas.) 200 100 U4779 -100 As you can see, one side of the galaxy is moving with a negative velocity (spinning toward us), while the other side has a positive velocity (spinning away from us). Using Newton's gravity equation, we will be able to determine the gravitational mass of the entire galaxy and how the mass varies versus distance from the galaxy's center. -200 -8 8 -4 Radius (kpc) Read the following text carefully and follow the instructions: Select five radii spaced evenly from 0-10 kpc across the galaxy. Your selections should…arrow_forward
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