Life in the Universe (4th Edition)
4th Edition
ISBN: 9780134089089
Author: Jeffrey O. Bennett, Seth Shostak
Publisher: PEARSON
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Chapter 3, Problem 28TYU
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Decide whether the statement made by Astronomers is reasonable or not.
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One way that astronomers detect planets outside of our solar system (called exoplanets) is commonly referred to as the radial velocity method. This relies on the __________ ___________ to cause shifts in the spectral lines of stars as the stars perform tiny orbits around the center of mass of the host star and its orbiting planets. Those tiny orbits cause the stars to periodically (and therefore predictably) move closer to and further away from our solar system. Luckily, this method only relies on the motion of the star; its physical distance from us does not impact the resulting shifts.
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A star with mass 1.05 M has a luminosity of 4.49 × 1026 W and effective temperature of 5700 K. It dims to 4.42 × 1026 W every 1.39 Earth days due to a transiting exoplanet. The duration of the transit reveals that the exoplanet orbits at a distance of 0.0617 AU. Based on this information, calculate the radius of the planet (expressed in Jupiter radii) and the minimum inclination of its orbit to our line of sight.
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Chapter 3 Solutions
Life in the Universe (4th Edition)
Ch. 3 - List three major ideas of astronomy that help...Ch. 3 - Briefly define and describe each of the various...Ch. 3 - Describe the solar system as it looks on the...Ch. 3 - Prob. 4RQCh. 3 - Prob. 5RQCh. 3 - Prob. 6RQCh. 3 - Prob. 7RQCh. 3 - What do we mean when we say that Earth and life...Ch. 3 - Imagine describing the cosmic calendar to a...Ch. 3 - Prob. 10RQ
Ch. 3 - Prob. 11RQCh. 3 - Prob. 12RQCh. 3 - What is the difference between matter in the...Ch. 3 - Define and give examples of kinetic energy,...Ch. 3 - Prob. 15RQCh. 3 - Prob. 16RQCh. 3 - Briefly describe the four major features of our...Ch. 3 - Briefly describe the nebular theory and how it...Ch. 3 - What was the close encounter hypothesis for our...Ch. 3 - How have recent discoveries led scientists to...Ch. 3 - Prob. 21TYUCh. 3 - At a middle school talent show, 14-year-old Sam...Ch. 3 - SETI researchers announced today that if they...Ch. 3 - A noted physicist today announced that he has...Ch. 3 - Prob. 25TYUCh. 3 - Astronomers have discovered a galaxy in the far...Ch. 3 - Inventor John Johnson has patented a device that...Ch. 3 - Prob. 28TYUCh. 3 - Prob. 29TYUCh. 3 - Using new, powerful telescopes, biologists today...Ch. 3 - Prob. 31TYUCh. 3 - Prob. 32TYUCh. 3 - A television advertisement claiming that a product...Ch. 3 - When we say the universe is expanding, we mean...Ch. 3 - Prob. 35TYUCh. 3 - The age of our solar system is about (a) one-third...Ch. 3 - Prob. 37TYUCh. 3 - How many of the planets orbit the Sun in the same...Ch. 3 - Prob. 39TYUCh. 3 - Prob. 40TYUCh. 3 - Explaining the Past. Is it really possible for...Ch. 3 - A Strange Star System. Suppose that we discovered...Ch. 3 - Prob. 44IFCh. 3 - Alien Technology. Some people believe that Earth...Ch. 3 - Atomic Terminology Practice. a. The most common...Ch. 3 - Prob. 49IFCh. 3 - Prob. 50IFCh. 3 - Patterns of Motion. In one or two paragraphs,...Ch. 3 - Two Kinds of Planets. The jovian planets differ...Ch. 3 - Pluto and Eris. How does the nebular theory...Ch. 3 - Rocks from Other Solar Systems. Many leftovers...Ch. 3 - Prob. 55IFCh. 3 - Prob. 56IFCh. 3 - Scale of the Solar System. The real diameters of...Ch. 3 - Prob. 58IFCh. 3 - Prob. 59IFCh. 3 - Prob. 60IFCh. 3 - Prob. 61IFCh. 3 - Prob. 62IFCh. 3 - Prob. 63IFCh. 3 - Prob. 67WPCh. 3 - Tour of the Solar System. Visit one of the many...
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- Suppose that stars were born at random times over the last 1010 years. The rate of star formation is simply the number of stars divided by 1010 years. The fraction of stars with detected extrasolar planets is at least 18%. The rate of star formation can be multiplied by this fraction to find the rate planet formation. How often (in years) does a planetary system form in our galaxy? Assume the Milky Way contains 8 × 1011 stars.arrow_forwardThe NASA Kepler mission detected a transiting planet that blocks 1.3% of the stars light and the host star has a radius 82% of the Sun's radius (the Sun has a radius of 700,000 km) what is the radius of the exosolar planet in km?arrow_forwardIn Table 2, there is a list of 15 planets, some of which are real objects discovered by the Kepler space telescope, and some are hypothetical planets. For each one, you are provided the temperature of the star that each planet orbits in degrees Kelvin (K), the distance that each planet orbits from their star in astronomical units (AUs) and the size or radius of each planet in Earth radii (RE). Since we are concerned with finding Earth-like planets, we will assume that the composition of these planets are similar to Earth's, so we will not directly look at their masses, rather their sizes (radii) along with the other characteristics. Determine which of these 15 planets meets our criteria of a planet that could possibly support Earth-like life. Use the Habitable Planet Classification Flow Chart (below) to complete Table 2. Whenever the individual value you are looking at falls within the range of values specified on the flow chart, mark the cell to the right of the value with a Y for…arrow_forward
- Suppose we find an Earth-like planet around one of our nearest stellar neighbors, Alpha Centauri (located only 4.4 light-years away). If we launched a "generation ship" at a constant speed of 1500.00 km/s from Earth with a group of people whose descendants will explore and colonize this planet, how many years before the generation ship reached Alpha Centauri? (Note there are 9.46 ××1012 km in a light-year and 31.6 million seconds in a year.arrow_forwardTime From this light curve, we can deduce that... O the star has a high mass exoplanet orbiting it O the star has an exoplanet orbiting it that has an eccentric orbit O the star has an exoplanet orbiting it that has an eccentric orbit O the star has an exoplanet that is not on the same orbital plane as the star L Brightnessarrow_forwardThe Kepler telescope, still in orbit around the Sun, has detected thousands of inhabited exoplanets moons of exoplanets potentially Earth-threatening asteroids confirmed exoplanets The most promising places to look for other habitable planets would be in our own solar system orbiting stars similar to our Sun, or even dimmer than our Sun in other galaxies orbitin bright, giant stars like Betelgeusearrow_forward
- the co te on Pictor. The 270 TOI System TOI 270 c Earth 365-day orbit $1 AU from Sun Habitable 5.7-day orbit 0.05 AU $2.4 Earth radii Largest in system 59 F, 15 C 300 F, 150 C TOI 270 TOI 270 d M3-type dwarf star TOI 270 b $11.4-day orbit 0.07 AU 3.4-day orbit 2.1 Earth radii 0.03 AU Temperate 1.25 Earth radii Likely rocky 150 F. 67 C 490 F. 254 C Figure taken from https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/news/1593/tess-scores-hat-trick-with-3-new-worlds/ What makes the TOI-270 system particularly interesting is that the three exoplanets detected this far (there may be more) have sizes comparable to the Earth. Compare the orbital period of TOI 270 c and TOI 270 d. For every revolution that TOI 270 d makes around the host star TOI 270, how many revolutions does TOI 270 c make?arrow_forwardWhen astronomers found the first giant planets with orbits of only a few days, they did not know whether those planets were gaseous and liquid like Jupiter or rocky like Mercury. The observations of HD 209458 settled this question because observations of the transit of the star by this planet made it possible to determine the radius of the planet. Use the data given in the text to estimate the density of this planet, and then use that information to explain why it must be a gas giant.arrow_forwardThe Tully-Fischer method relies on being able to relate the mass of a galaxy to its rotation velocity. Stars in the outer-most regions of the Milky Way galaxy, located at a distance of 50 kpc from the galactic centre, are observed to orbit at a speed vrot = 250 km s−1. Using Kepler’s 3rd Law, determine the mass in the Milky Way that lies interior to 50 kpc. Express your answer in units of the Solar mass.arrow_forward
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