ASTR 1010 Homework Solutions University of （ASTR 1010作业解决方案大学）.pdf

ASTR 1010 Homework Solutions Chapter 1 24. Set up a proportion, but be sure that you express all the distances in the same units (e.g., centimeters). The diameter of the Sun is to the size of a basketball as the distance to Proxima Centauri (4.2 LY) is to the unknown distance (X), so 11 17 (1.4 × 10 cm) / (30 cm) = (4.2 LY)(9.46 × 10 cm/LY) / (X) Rearranging terms, we get 17 11 8 X = (4.2 LY)(9.46 × 10 cm/LY)(30 cm) / (1.4 × 10 cm) = 8.51 × 10 cm 3 = 8.51 × 10 km = 8510 km In other words, if the Sun were the size of a 30-cm diameter ball, the nearest star would be 8510 km away, which is roughly the distance from Los Angeles to Tokyo. 27. The Sun’s hydrogen mass is (3/4) × (1.99 × 1030 kg) = 1.49 × 1030 kg. Now divide the Sun’s hydrogen mass by the mass of one hydrogen atom to get the number of hydrogen atoms contained in the Sun: (1.49 × 1030 kg) / (1.67 × 10-27 kg/atom) = 8.92 × 1056 atoms. 8 11 29. The distance from the Sun to the Earth is 1 AU = 1.496 × 10 km = 1.496 × 10 m. The light-travel time is the distance, 1 AU, divided by the speed of light, i.e., 11 8 3 time = distance/speed = (1.496 × 10 m) / (3.00 × 10 m/s) = 0.499 × 10 s = 499 s = 8.3 minutes. 34. Since you are given diameter (D = 2.6 cm) and angle, and asked to find distance, you need to rewrite the small-angle formula as d = (206,265)(D) / (α). (a) α = 1 degree = 3600 arcsec, so d = (206,265)(D) / (α) = (206,265)(2.6 cm) / (3600) = 149 cm = 1.5 m. (b) α = 1 arcmin = 60 arcsec, so d = (206,265)(2.6 cm) / (60) = 8938 cm = 89 m. (c) α = 1 arcsec, so d = (206,265)(2