Chapter 20: Problem 58

Suppose that you discover a small, glowing disk of light while searching the sky with a telescope. How would you decide if this object is a planetary nebula? Could your object be something else? Explain.

Short Answer

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To determine if an object is a planetary nebula, observe its size, shape, color, and spectrum. Planetary nebulae often appear as small, round, and slightly colored disks, with a spectrum dominated by emission lines of ionized hydrogen and doubly ionized oxygen. Other objects like galaxies, stars, or other nebulae could appear similarly, and should be ruled out by their unique characteristics.

Step by step solution

Understand what a Planetary Nebula is

A Planetary Nebula is a shell of gas and dust ejected by a star in its later stages of evolution. The diffuse gas cloud is usually illuminated by the remaining exposed hot core of the star, giving it a glowing appearance. They often appear in the telescope as small, round, and slightly colored disks.

Determine Characteristics

In evaluating whether the object observed is a planetary nebula, it would be helpful to determine its characteristics. This includes assessing its size, shape, color, and spectrum. For a planetary nebula, the shape is often round, and the color varies from greenish to bluish due to ionized oxygen and hydrogen.

Spectrum Analysis

Another step in determining if an object is a planetary nebula is doing a spectral analysis. Planetary nebulae have a specific spectrum which is dominated by emission lines, unlike stars. Particularly, they demonstrate strong emission lines of ionized hydrogen (H-II) and doubly ionized oxygen (O-III). If you have spectral data, this would be a strong indicator.

Consider Other Possibilities

There exist other celestial objects which could be mistaken for planetary nebulae. For example, galaxies, stars or other nebulae may also appear as small, glowing disks of light in the telescope. Each of these objects has unique characteristics, such as size, shape, color, and spectrum. Thus, identifying the object correctly involves not only identifying characteristics consistent with it being a planetary nebula, but also ruling out these other possibilities.

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Suppose that you discover a small, glowing disk of light while searching the sky with a telescope. How would you decide if this object is a planetary nebula? Could your object be something else? Explain.

Short Answer

Step by step solution

Understand what a Planetary Nebula is

Determine Characteristics

Spectrum Analysis

Consider Other Possibilities

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