How is Earth unique as compared to other planets in our solar system? How is it similar? And finally, what geologic information might we obtain by visiting Mars or Venus that would be similar to what we see on Earth? Your response should be at least 200 words in length,please at least one reference.Answer the questions in the work shit.
unitviii_assignment_worksheet.docx
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ES 1010 Unit VIII Assignment Worksheet
Part 1: Finding the Distance to Stars Using the Parallax Angle
Instructions:
Read Chapter 15 and Appendix D (pp. 543-545) in the textbook and the background information below.
Answer the three questions at the bottom directly in this lab worksheet.
This NASA web page provides additional explanation:
http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/features/cosmic/nearest_star_info.html
Background:
Stellar Parallax is the apparent shift in the location of a star due to the orbit of the Earth. In other words,
the star will appear to be in a different place depending on the line of sight from the Earth. By knowing the
diameter of Earth’s orbit and by measuring the angle of apparent shift (the parallax angle), astronomers
can calculate the distance to the nearby stars using trigonometry. This method has been used for
centuries. The ancient Greeks were able to measure some of the closest stars this way. Today,
sophisticated telescopes have greatly enhanced this method. Figure 1 is a graphic from your textbook
showing how this works:
Figure 1. Geometry of stellar parallax, (Lutgens, Tabuck, & Tasa, 2014)
Assignment:
For this assignment, you will determine the distance to a star, “HT Cas”, using the method of stellar
parallax. Figure 2 and 3 below are photos of HT Case, taken six months apart:
ES 1010 Unit VIII Assignment Worksheet
Fig 2. Image of HT Cas taken 06/96
Fig. 3. Image of HT Cas taken 12/96
When we super-impose these photos, we get the following image (figure 4):
Fig. 4. Composite image of measurements of
HT Cas (shown in red) taken six months apart.
You can see that the position of the star appears to have changed over the six-month time period.
However, it is actually the angle from which the photos were taken that has changed. During that 6month period, the Earth moved from one side of the sun to the other.
Using a stellar astrometric catalog, we find that the two stars closest to HT Cas are a distance of 0.01
arcseconds apart. Based on this information, we can estimate that the angle of shift of HT Cas (the
parallax angle) to be approximately 0.015 arcseconds apart.
We also know that the radius of the Earth’s orbit is 1.0 A.U. (astronomical units).
Using these two measurements, we can then determine the approximate distance to HT Cas using the
following equation:
d= distance to HT Cas
a=radius of the Earth’s orbit
p=parallax angle
1. (10 points) Given the above equation and information provided, about how far away is HT Cas?
ES 1010 Unit VIII Assignment Worksheet
a.
b.
c.
d.
133 parsecs
67 parsecs
33 parsecs
0.015 parsecs
Answer:
2. (10 points) Your answer was calculated in parsecs. Given that 1 parsec = 3.2616 light years,
about what is the distance to HT Cas in light years? (Your answer in parsecs X 3.2616 light years
= The Distance to HT Cas in light years).
a. 0.025 light years
b. 217 light years
c. 434 light years
d. 219 light years
Answer:
3. (30 points) Based on your answer, do you think this is a star that we might be able to send a
space probe to? Why or why not? Support your answer.
Part 2: Using a Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram
Instructions: After reading the Unit VIII lesson, click here to access the NASA web page “Stars” and
answer the questions below using Figure 5. You can also copy and paste the web address into your
browser:
http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/how-do-stars-form-and-evolve/
Background:
Notice that the stars in Figure 5 are not uniformly distributed. Rather, about 90 percent of all stars fall
along a band that runs from the upper-left corner to the lower-right corner of the H-R diagram. These
“ordinary” stars are called main-sequence stars. As you can see in Figure 5, the hottest main-sequence
stars are intrinsically the brightest, and, conversely, the coolest are the dimmest. The absolute magnitude
of main-sequence stars is also related to their mass. The hottest (blue) stars are about 50 times more
massive than the Sun, whereas the coolest (red) stars are only 1/ 10 as massive. Therefore, on the H-R
diagram, the main-sequence stars appear in decreasing order, from hotter, more massive blue stars to
cooler, less massive red stars (Lutgens, Tarbuck, & Tasa, 2014).
Assignment: Use Figure 5 to answer the questions. Once all questions have been answered for both
part 1 and part 2, save this worksheet with your last name and student number and upload to Blackboard
for grading.
ES 1010 Unit VIII Assignment Worksheet
Figure 5. Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. (Lutgens, Tarbuck, & Tesa, 2010)
1. (10 points) Main Sequence stars can be classified according to which characteristics? What are the
characteristics of our Sun?
2. (10 points) Which main sequence stars can be found with a surface temperature of between 3000K4000K? Which stars have a luminosity about 100 times less than that of the Sun?
3. (30 points) Briefly describe the solar evolution time-line of a common star like our own from formation
through collapse.
…
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