The Cosmic Perspective (9th Edition)
9th Edition
ISBN: 9780134874364
Author: Jeffrey O. Bennett, Megan O. Donahue, Nicholas Schneider, Mark Voit
Publisher: PEARSON
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Chapter 21, Problem 50EAP
To determine
The mass of central black hole.
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Globular clusters revolve around the Galaxy in highly elliptical orbits. Where would you expect the clusters to spend most of their time? (Think of Kepler’s laws.) At any given time, would you expect most globular clusters to be moving at high or low speeds with respect to the center of the Galaxy? Why? (If you would like to learn more about globular clusters, read Section 22.2 of the book, though it is not necessary to answer this question)
If astronomers were to find they have made a mistake and our solar system is actually 7.8 (rather than 8.2) kpc from the center of the galaxy, but the orbital velocity of the sun is still 240 km/s, what is the minimum mass of the galaxy? (Hint: Use Kepler's third law.)
You observe a star orbiting the massive object at the galactic center at a speed of 1090 km/s in a circular orbit with a radius of 18 light-days. Calculate the mass of the object the star is orbiting. Enter in solar masses
Hint: The orbital velocity equation is v=sqrt(G M / R). Also note that the orbital radius is in light DAYS.
Chapter 21 Solutions
The Cosmic Perspective (9th Edition)
Ch. 21 - Prob. 1VSCCh. 21 - Prob. 2VSCCh. 21 - Prob. 3VSCCh. 21 - Prob. 4VSCCh. 21 - Prob. 1EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 2EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 3EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 4EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 5EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 6EAP
Ch. 21 - Prob. 7EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 9EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 10EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 11EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 12EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 13EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 14EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 15EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 16EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 17EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 18EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 19EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 20EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 21EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 22EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 23EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 24EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 25EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 26EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 27EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 28EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 29EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 30EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 31EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 32EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 34EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 36EAPCh. 21 - Life Story of a Spiral. Imagine that you are a...Ch. 21 - Prob. 39EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 40EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 41EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 42EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 43EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 44EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 45EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 46EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 47EAPCh. 21 - A Nearby Starburst. The galaxy M82, shown in...Ch. 21 - Prob. 49EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 50EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 51EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 52EAPCh. 21 - Prob. 53EAP
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- Once again in this chapter, we see the use of Kepler’s third law to estimate the mass of supermassive black holes. In the case of NGC 4261, this chapter supplied the result of the calculation of the mass of the black hole in NGC 4261. In order to get this answer, astronomers had to measure the velocity of particles in the ring of dust and gas that surrounds the black hole. How high were these velocities? Turn Kepler’s third law around and use the information given in this chapter about the galaxy NGC 4261-the mass of the black hole at its center and the diameter of the surrounding ring of dust and gas-to calculate how long it would take a dust particle in the ring to complete a single orbit around the black hole. Assume that the only force acting on the dust particle is the gravitational force exerted by the black hole. Calculate the velocity of the dust particle in km/s.arrow_forwardThe best evidence for a black hole at the center of the Galaxy also comes from the application of Kepler’s third law. Suppose a star at a distance of 20 light-hours from the center of the Galaxy has an orbital speed of 6200 km/s. How much mass must be located inside its orbit?arrow_forwardConsider 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_forward
- The first clue that the Galaxy contains a lot of dark matter was the observation that the orbital velocities of stars did not decreases with increasing distance from the center of the Galaxy. Construct a rotation curve for the solar system by using the orbital velocities of the planets, which can be found in Appendix F. How does this curve differ from the rotation curve for the Galaxy? What does it tell you about where most of the mass in the solar system is concentrated?arrow_forwardDescribe the evidence indicating that a black hole may be at the center of our Galaxy.arrow_forwardObservations of the central region of the galaxy M87 indicate that stars which are 60 light years later from the centre are orbiting the central supermassive black hole at speeds of 730kms^-1. Estimate the lads of the black hole, in solar masses.(You can assume circular motion, e.g. if you get 3 solar masses, type in 3). just wondering what formula I use?arrow_forward
- Suppose you observe a star orbiting the galactic center at a speed of 1100 km/s in a circular orbit with a radius of 14 light-days. Calculate the mass of the object that the star is orbiting. Express your answer in solar masses to two significant figures.arrow_forwardYou observe a star orbiting in the outer parts of a galaxy. The distance to this galaxy is known, and you are able to take a spectra of this star and determine its velocity. The star is 22 kpc from the galaxy center and moving in a circular orbit with speed 304 km/s. Compute the total mass of the galaxy internal to the star's orbit. You will get a large number; express it in scientific notation and in units of solar masses [e.g., 4.2e10]. [Hint: there is a Box in Chapter 22 of your textbook that will be of help. See also the course formula sheet.]arrow_forwardEstimate the age of the universe for a Hubble constant of (a)50km/s/Mpc, (b) 75km/s/Mpc, and (c) 100 km/s/Mpc. On the basis of the answers, explain how the ages of globular clusters could be used to put a limit on the maximum value of the Hubble constant.arrow_forward
- The Sun is moving at 220 ??/? around the Galactic Center at a more-or-less constant distance of 8.5 ???. To appreciate how remarkable this is, consider the following questions: a) How massive would the Sun have to be for the Earth to have an orbital velocity of 220 km/s at 1 AU? b) How fast would the Earth move if it was in orbit around the Sun at a distance of 8.5 kpc? Of course, you may ignore the effects of all other stars in this calculation.arrow_forwardObservations of the central region of the galaxy M87 indicate that stars which are 60 light years from the centre are orbiting the central supermassive black hole at speeds of 730 kms‑1. Estimate the mass of the black hole, in solar masses. (You can assume circular motion.arrow_forwardSuppose the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy merges completely with the Milky Way and adds 150,000 stars to it. Estimate the percentage change in the mass of the Milky Way. Will this be enough mass to affect the orbit of the Sun around the galactic center? Assume that all of the Sagittarius galaxy’s stars end up in the nuclear bulge of the Milky Way Galaxy and explain your answer.arrow_forward
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