Astronomy
1st Edition
ISBN: 9781938168284
Author: Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. Wolff
Publisher: OpenStax
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Textbook Question
Chapter 23, Problem 18E
Suppose no stars more massive than about 2 MSunhad ever formed. Would life as we know it have been able to develop? Why or why not?
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Suppose that stars were born at random times over the last 10e10 years. The rate ofstar formation is simply the number of stars divided by 10e10 years. The fraction ofstars with detected extrasolar planets is at least 9 %. The rate of star formation can bemultiplied by this fraction to find the rate planet formation. How often (in years) doesa planetary system form in our galaxy? Assume the Milky Way contains 7 × 10e11 stars.
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In a globular cluster, astronomers (someday) discover a star with the same mass as our Sun, but consisting entirely of hydrogen and helium. Is this star a good place to point our SETI antennas and search for radio signals from an advanced civilization?
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No, because such a star (and any planets around it) would not have the heavier elements (carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, etc.) that we believe are necessary to start life as we know it.
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Chapter 23 Solutions
Astronomy
Ch. 23 - How does a white dwarf differ from a neutron star?...Ch. 23 - Describe the evolution of a star with a mass like...Ch. 23 - Describe the evolution of a massive star (say, 20...Ch. 23 - How do the two types of supernovae discussed in...Ch. 23 - A star begins its life with a mass of 5 MSunbut...Ch. 23 - If the formation of a neutron star leads to a...Ch. 23 - How can the Crab Nebula shine with the energy of...Ch. 23 - How is a nova different from a type Ia supernova?...Ch. 23 - Apart from the masses, how are binary systems with...Ch. 23 - What observations from SN 1987A helped confirm...
Ch. 23 - Describe the evolution of a white dwarf over time,...Ch. 23 - Describe the evolution of a pulsar over time, in...Ch. 23 - How would a white dwarf that formed from a star...Ch. 23 - What do astronomers think are the causes of...Ch. 23 - How did astronomers finally solve the mystery of...Ch. 23 - Arrange the following stars in order of their...Ch. 23 - Would you expect to find any white dwarfs in the...Ch. 23 - Suppose no stars more massive than about 2 MSunhad...Ch. 23 - Would you be more likely to observe a type II...Ch. 23 - Astronomers believe there are something like 100...Ch. 23 - Would you expect to observe every supernova in our...Ch. 23 - The Large Magellanic Cloud has about one-tenth the...Ch. 23 - Look at the list of the nearest stars in Appendix...Ch. 23 - If most stars become white dwarfs at the ends of...Ch. 23 - If a 3 and 8 MSunstar formed together in a binary...Ch. 23 - You have discovered two star clusters. The first...Ch. 23 - A supernova remnant was recently discovered and...Ch. 23 - Based upon the evolution of stars, place the...Ch. 23 - What observations or types of telescopes would you...Ch. 23 - How would the spectra of a type II supernova be...Ch. 23 - The ring around SN 1987A (Figure 23.12) initially...Ch. 23 - What is the acceleration of gravity (g) at the...Ch. 23 - What is the escape velocity from the Sun? How much...Ch. 23 - What is the average density of the Sun? How does...Ch. 23 - Say that a particular white dwarf has the mass of...Ch. 23 - What is the escape velocity from the white dwarf...Ch. 23 - What is the average density of the white dwarf in...Ch. 23 - Now take a neutron star that has twice the mass of...Ch. 23 - What is the escape velocity from the neutron star...Ch. 23 - What is the average density of the neutron star in...Ch. 23 - One way to calculate the radius of a star is to...Ch. 23 - According to a model described in the text, a...Ch. 23 - Do the same calculations as in Exercise 23.42 but...Ch. 23 - If the Sun were replaced by a white dwarf with a...Ch. 23 - A supernova can eject material at a velocity of...Ch. 23 - A supernova remnant was observed in 2007 to be...Ch. 23 - The ring around SN 1987A (Figure 23.12) started...Ch. 23 - Before the star that became SN 1987A exploded, it...Ch. 23 - What is the radius of the progenitor star that...Ch. 23 - What is the acceleration of gravity at the surface...Ch. 23 - What was the escape velocity from the surface of...Ch. 23 - What was the average density of the star that...Ch. 23 - If the pulsar shown in Figure 23.16 is rotating...
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- Would a human have been possible during the first generation of stars that formed right after the Big Bang? Why or why not?arrow_forwardThe star cluster shown in this image contains a few red giants as well as main-sequence stars ranging from spectral type B to M. Discuss the likelihood that exoplanets orbiting any of these stars might be home to life. (Hint: Estimate the age of the cluster.)arrow_forwardPlanetary Nebula Age. Suppose a planetary nebula is 1 pc in radius. If the Doppler shifts in its spectrum show it is expanding at 20 km/s, how old is it? (Note that 1 pc equals 3.1x1013 km, and 1 year equals 3.2x107 seconds, to two significant figures.) Please round your answer to two significant digits. At = yearsarrow_forward
- Most of the stars we can see with the unaided eye in our night sky are hundreds or even thousands of lightyears away from Earth. (The very closest ones are only a few dozen lightyears away, but most are much further.) The vast majority of stars in our galaxy are many tens of thousands of lightyears away. IF intelligent life existed on planets orbiting some of these stars – and that’s a huge IF! – comment on the likelihood and practicality of (a) visiting, (b) communicating with, or (c) verifying the existence of those life forms. Describe how you might go about approaching EACH of these three tasks, or if you think they are even possible. (One or two sentences for each part would be appropriate.)arrow_forwardFor each problem, use the following values: c = 3x108 m/s mass of the sun = 1.989 x 1030 kg luminosity of the sun = 3.828 x 1026 W 1 AU = 1.496 x 1011 m 1 pc = 3.262 light years = 3.086 x 1016 m 1 year=3.154x107 seconds Critical density of our Universe (expressed as a mass density): Pcrit =8.7 x 10-27 kg m-³ Critical energy density of our Universe: Ecrit = Pcrit c² G=6.674 × 10-11 m³.kg-1.s-2 1 eV = 1.60218 x10-19. Boltzmann constant: kg = 1.381 x 10-23 JK-18.617 × 10-5eV K-1 energy density constant (in Stefan Boltzmann Law): a = 7.566 x 10-16 Jm-3 K-4 -4.7 x 10-³ MeV m-3 K-4 Constant in Wein displacement law: b = 2.898 x 10-3 m K baryon-to-photon ratio, n = 6 x 10-10arrow_forwardIn the text, we said that the five-times ionized oxygen (OVI) seen in hot gas must have been produced by supernova shocks that heated the gas to millions of degrees, and not by starlight, the way H II is produced. Producing OVI by light requires wavelengths shorter than 10.9 nm. The hottest observed stars have surface temperatures of about 50,000 K. Could they produce OVI?arrow_forward
- If you could search for life in the galaxy shown in this image, would you look among stars in the disk, in the central bulge, in the halo, or in all of those places? Discuss the factors that influence your decision.arrow_forwardIf all the stars in a cluster have nearly the same age, why are clusters useful in studying evolutionary effects (different stages in the lives of stars)?arrow_forwardIf a star must remain on the main sequence for at least 4 billon years for life to evolve to intelligence, what is the most massive a star can be and still possibly harbour intelligent life on one of its planets? (Hints. See Reasoning with Numbers 9-1 and Appendix Table A-7.)arrow_forward
- Why is star formation more likely to occur in cold molecular clouds than in regions where the temperature of the interstellar medium is several hundred thousand degrees?arrow_forwardDescribe the life cycles of both low mass and high mass stars, understand how their properties change during each evolutionary stage and how their evolution can be represented on a Hertzsprung-Russell diagramarrow_forward
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