Horizons: Exploring the Universe (MindTap Course List)
14th Edition
ISBN: 9781305960961
Author: Michael A. Seeds, Dana Backman
Publisher: Cengage Learning
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Question
Chapter 8, Problem 1RQ
To determine
Why Earth-based parallax measurements are limited to the nearest star?
Expert Solution & Answer
Answer to Problem 1RQ
Earth-based parallax system is limited to nearest stars because earth atmosphere smears stars images which makes difficult to measure the parallax from earth.
Explanation of Solution
Measurement of parallax is a very difficult task because stars at a larger distance makea very small angle.
When we measure the parallax angle from Earth even from a very good observatory, the earth atmosphere smears the images of the star and makes the diameter of the star around 1 arc second, which makes it difficult to measure the parallax from Earth.
That is why Earth parallax system is limited to the nearest star.
Conclusion:
Because earth atmosphere smears stars images which makes difficult to measure the parallax from earth
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Students have asked these similar questions
15: A star has a parallax angle of 0.0270 arcseconds and an apparent magnitude of 4.641. What is the distance to this star? Answer: 37
16: What is the absolute magnitude of this star? Answer:1.8
17: Is this star more or less luminous than the Sun? Answer "M" for More luminous or "L" for Less luminous. (HINT: the absolute magnitude of the Sun is 4.8) Answer: M
18: What is the luminosity of this star? (HINT: The luminosity of the Sun is 3.85×1026 W.)
Please answer question #18, #15-17 are correct, the photos provide the work for them.
the parallax angle of a star to be 0.002 arc-seconds. what would the distance be to this star?
You measure a star to have a parallax angle of 0.12 arc-seconds
What is the distance to this star in parsecs?
8.33
Hint: d = 1/p
What is the parallax angle of a different star that is twice as far away as the star from the previous problems? [answer in arc-seconds without including the unit]
Chapter 8 Solutions
Horizons: Exploring the Universe (MindTap Course List)
Ch. 8 - Prob. 1RQCh. 8 - Why was the Hipparcos satellite able to make more...Ch. 8 - Prob. 3RQCh. 8 - Prob. 4RQCh. 8 - Prob. 5RQCh. 8 - Prob. 6RQCh. 8 - Prob. 7RQCh. 8 - Prob. 8RQCh. 8 - Prob. 9RQCh. 8 - Prob. 10RQ
Ch. 8 - Prob. 11RQCh. 8 - Prob. 12RQCh. 8 - Prob. 13RQCh. 8 - Prob. 14RQCh. 8 - Prob. 15RQCh. 8 - Prob. 16RQCh. 8 - Prob. 17RQCh. 8 - Prob. 18RQCh. 8 - Prob. 19RQCh. 8 - How Do We know? In what way does accumulation of...Ch. 8 - Prob. 1DQCh. 8 - Can you think of classification systems used to...Ch. 8 - Prob. 3DQCh. 8 - Prob. 1PCh. 8 - Prob. 2PCh. 8 - Prob. 3PCh. 8 - Prob. 4PCh. 8 - Prob. 5PCh. 8 - Prob. 6PCh. 8 - Prob. 7PCh. 8 - Prob. 8PCh. 8 - Prob. 9PCh. 8 - Prob. 10PCh. 8 - Prob. 11PCh. 8 - Prob. 12PCh. 8 - Prob. 13PCh. 8 - Prob. 1LTLCh. 8 - Prob. 2LTL
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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
- The satellite Hipparcos was launched in 1989 to measure very accurate parallax angles of stars; it has provided the most accurate parallax measurements ever obtained. The smallest parallax angle it can measure is 0.002". How far away is the most distant star to which Hipparcos can measure the distance?arrow_forwardWhich of the following is a true statement? A smaller diameter star can never have a smaller number for its apparent magnitude than a larger star. Two stars with the same diameter and effective surface temperature will necessarily have the same absolute magnitude as well. Aristotle was the first person to detect stellar parallax. All G2 stars necessarily have the same absolute magnitude.arrow_forwardWhich star in the table below is the closest to Earth? Star Name d (parsecs) Parallax (seconds of arc) Spectral Type $$ \delta $$ Cen 0.026 B2 IV HR 4607 0.039 G8 III HR 4758 20 G0 V HR 39801 0.005 M2 I 9 CMa 2.5 A1 V a. $$ \delta $$ Cen b. HR 4607 c. HR 4758 d. HD 39801 e. 9 CMaarrow_forward
- A star is observed at a distance of 90 pc. What will be its parallax angle?arrow_forwardIn the parallax method of determining stellar distances, the angle to a star is measured while the earth is on one side of the sun and then again six months later, as in the diagram below. Assume the earth-sun distance is 1 Astronomical Unit. The parallax angle of Alpha Centauri is 0= 2.1 x 10-4 ° . Find the distance from the sun to a Centauri in light years. Assume a circular orbit for the Earth. a Centauri Earth (June) Earth (December) Sunarrow_forwardWhy can’t astronomers use parallax to measure the distance to stars that are extremely far away?arrow_forward
- According to the equation d=1/p, a star whose parallax angle is 1/50” is how far away?arrow_forwardWhich star in the table below has the least surface temperature? Star Name d (parsecs) Parallax (seconds of arc) Spectral Type $$ \delta $$ Cen 0.026 B2 IV HR 4607 0.039 G8 III HR 4758 20 G0 V HR 39801 0.005 M2 I 9 CMa 2.5 A1 V a. $$ \delta $$ Cen b. HR 4607 c. HR 4758 d. HD 39801 e. 9 CMaarrow_forwardIf we view a star now, and then view it again 6 months later, our position will have changed by the diameter of the Earth's orbit around the sun. For nearby stars (within 100 light-years or so), the change in viewing location is sufficient to make the star appear to be in a slightly different location in the sky. Half of the angle from one location to the next is known as the parallax angle (see figure). Parallax can be used to measure the distance to the star. An approximate relationship is given by d = 3.26 p , where d is the distance in light-years, and p is the parallax measured in seconds of arc. Vega is a star that has a parallax angle of 0.13 second. How far is Vega from the sun? Note: Parallax is used not only to measure stellar distances. Our binocular vision actually provides the brain with a parallax angle that it uses to estimate distances to objects we see. (Round your answer to two decimal places.) light-yearsarrow_forward
- As seen from Earth, the Sun has an apparent magnitude of about 26.7 . What is the apparent magnitude of the Sun as seen from Saturn, about 10 AU away? (Remember that one AU is the distance from Earth to the Sun and that the brightness decreases as the inverse square of the distance.) Would the Sun still be the brightest star in the sky?arrow_forwardWhat would be the advantage of making parallax measurements from Pluto rather than from Earth? Would there be a disadvantage?arrow_forwardVerify that if two stars have a difference of five magnitudes, this corresponds to a factor of 100 in the ratio (b2b1) ; that 2.5 magnitudes corresponds to a factor of 10; and that 0.75 magnitudes corresponds to a factor of 2.arrow_forward
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