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Chapter 17: Problem 33
Find the average distance from the Sun to Neptune in parsecs. Compared to Neptune, how many times farther away from the Sun is Proxima Centauri?
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As seen from the starship Enterprise in the Star Trek television series and movies, stars appear to move across the sky due to the starship's motion. How fast would the Enterprise have to move in order for a star \(1 \mathrm{pc}\) away to appear to move \(1^{\circ}\) per second? (Hint: The speed of the star as seen from the Enterprise is the same as the speed of the Enterprise relative to the star.) How does this compare with the speed of light? Do you think the stars appear to move as seen from an orbiting space shuttle, which moves at about \(8 \mathrm{~km} / \mathrm{s}\) ?
The star HIP 72509 has an apparent magnitude of \(+12.1\) and a parallax angle of \(0.222\) arcsecond. (a) Determine its absolute magnitude. (b) Find the approximate ratio of the luminosity of HIP 72509 to the Sun's luminosity.
Which gives a more accurate measure of a star's surface temperature, its color ratios or its spectral lines? Explain.
Suppose two stars have the same apparent brightness, but one star is 8 times farther away than the other. What is the ratio of their luminosities? Which one is more luminous, the closer star or the farther star?
Why is the magnitude scale called a "backward" scale? What is the difference between apparent magnitude and absolute magnitude?
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