21st Century Astronomy
6th Edition
ISBN: 9780393428063
Author: Kay
Publisher: NORTON
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Chapter 20, Problem 5QP
To determine
The evidence of a supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way.
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It is believed that there is a black hole with a mass of approximately four million times the mass of the Sun near the centre of the Milky Way galaxy. Some stars are relatively close to this black hole. Assume that the semi-major axis of the orbit of one of these stars is 3.5 light days (ie. The distance that light would travel in 3.5 days).a) Find the orbital period of the star. (In years)b) Find the orbital speed of the star (in km/s), assuming that it is in a circular orbit.
A star is observed to undergo circular orbit around the black hole located at the centre of the Milky Way galaxy. The orbital period is measured to be 16 years and the distance between the star and the black hole is determined to be 1000 Astronomical Units. Estimate the mass of the black hole in units of the Solar mass, and explain any approximations you make in your calculation.
Chapter 20 Solutions
21st Century Astronomy
Ch. 20.1 - Prob. 20.1CYUCh. 20.2 - Prob. 20.2CYUCh. 20.3 - Prob. 20.3CYUCh. 20.4 - Prob. 20.4CYUCh. 20 - Prob. 1QPCh. 20 - Prob. 2QPCh. 20 - Prob. 3QPCh. 20 - Prob. 4QPCh. 20 - Prob. 5QPCh. 20 - Prob. 6QP
Ch. 20 - Prob. 7QPCh. 20 - Prob. 8QPCh. 20 - Prob. 9QPCh. 20 - Prob. 10QPCh. 20 - Prob. 11QPCh. 20 - Prob. 12QPCh. 20 - Prob. 13QPCh. 20 - Prob. 14QPCh. 20 - Prob. 15QPCh. 20 - Prob. 16QPCh. 20 - Prob. 17QPCh. 20 - Prob. 18QPCh. 20 - Prob. 19QPCh. 20 - Prob. 20QPCh. 20 - Prob. 21QPCh. 20 - Prob. 22QPCh. 20 - Prob. 23QPCh. 20 - Prob. 24QPCh. 20 - Prob. 25QPCh. 20 - Prob. 26QPCh. 20 - Prob. 27QPCh. 20 - Prob. 28QPCh. 20 - Prob. 29QPCh. 20 - Prob. 30QPCh. 20 - Prob. 31QPCh. 20 - Prob. 32QPCh. 20 - Prob. 33QPCh. 20 - Prob. 34QPCh. 20 - Prob. 35QPCh. 20 - Prob. 36QPCh. 20 - Prob. 37QPCh. 20 - Prob. 38QPCh. 20 - Prob. 39QPCh. 20 - Prob. 40QPCh. 20 - Prob. 41QPCh. 20 - Prob. 42QPCh. 20 - Prob. 43QPCh. 20 - Prob. 44QPCh. 20 - Prob. 45QP
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- Why didn’t astronomers before Shapley realize how large the galaxy is?arrow_forwardA stellar black hole may form when a massive star dies. The mass of the star collapses down to a single point. Imagine an astronaut orbiting a black hole having eight times the mass of the Sun. Assume the orbit is circular. a. Find the speed of the astronaut if his orbital radius is r = 1 AU. b. Find his speed if his orbital radius is r = 11.8 km. c. CHECK and THINK: Compare your answers to the speed of light in a vacuum. What would the astronauts orbital speed be if his orbital radius were smaller than 11.8 km?arrow_forward
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