Big Questions

1. Big Questions • If astronomers measure an object’s apparent brightness (flux), what do they need to know to figure out how far away that object is? • Why are astronomers interested in different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum? • How do an object’s size and temperature affect the light it emits, both the quantity and the color? • How can astronomers take a star’s temperature from so far away?

2. Below are four Honda Civics driving toward you at sunset with their headlights turned on. Each car is equipped with identical headlights. Rank the distance that each car is from you from greatest to least.

3. Below are four Honda Civics driving toward you at sunset with their headlights turned on. Each car is equipped with identical headlights. Rank the apparent brightness (flux) of each car’s headlights from greatest to least.

4. Below are four Honda Civics driving toward you at sunset with their headlights turned on. Each car is equipped with identical headlights. Rank the absolute brightness (luminosity) of each car’s headlights from greatest to least.

5. 1 4 3 2 5 The figure below shows five stars (A-E) as they appear in the night sky from Earth. A darker shade is used to indicate the appearance of a dimmer star. The distances to each star are unknown. Rank the flux of each star from greatest to least.

6. 1 4 3 2 5 The figure below shows five stars (A-E) as they appear in the night sky from Earth. A darker shade is used to indicate the appearance of a dimmer star. The distances to each star are unknown. Rank the luminosity of each star from greatest to least.

9. Visible Rusty

10. Infrared Rusty

12. USA - Visible

13. USA - IR

14. USA - gamma

15. USA - radio

16. The Whirlpool Galaxy, M51 Infrared: warm dust Radio: cold gas & magnetic fields Visible: stars Ultraviolet: young stars X-ray: black holes and neutron stars

17.  Atomic H gas • GMCs • dust •  Forming stars •  Stars •  Hot gas & binaries •  Cosmic rays colliding with the interstellar meduim

18. Infrared light has 1-greater 2-less energy than ultraviolet light

19. X-ray photons have 1-longer 2-shorter wavelengths than gamma ray photons

20. Visible electromagnetic radiation has a 1-higher 2-lower frequency than radio wave electromagnetic radiation

21. Infrared light has a 1-faster 2-slower speed than microwave light

22. Of all the types of light the sun gives off, it emits the greatest amount of light at visible light wavelengths. If the sun were to cool off dramatically and as a result start giving off mainly light at wavelengths longer than visible light, how would the frequency, energy and speed of this light given off by the sun also be different? Frequency : Energy: Speed:

24. A B C D E The hot plates are shaded according to temperature (darker shading means colder). Rank the hotplates in order by how much light they emit. Emits most light ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Emits least light

25. Below is the information about several stars. Rank the stars in order by the total amount of light they emit. Emits most light ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Emits least light

27. Which stars are hottest? Coolest? Which stars are hottest? Color  Temperature!

28. 2 1 3 4 The figure below is a graph of luminosity and temperature. Which group of stars is the red giants?

29. 2 1 3 4 The figure below is a graph of luminosity and temperature. Which group of stars is the white dwarfs?

30. 2 1 3 4 The figure below is a graph of luminosity and temperature. Which group of stars is the red dwarfs?

31. Flux Blue Red Wavelength (nm)

32. Which star is the hottest? Star 1 Star 3 Star 2

33. What color is Star 2? (The visible part of the spectrum goes from 4000 to 7000 on this scale). Star 1 Star 3 Star 2

34. Big Questions • How does light interact with matter? • How does quantum mechanics affect these interactions? • How do the spectra of opaque and non-opaque objects differ? • When do astronomers observe absorption lines vs emission lines? • What information can astronomers learn directly from the spectrum of an object?

42. Questions about Emission and Absorption: The picture to the right is of the Ring Nebula -- a bubble of gas surrounding a small star. If you aimed the Hubble Space Telescope at box A and took a spectrum, what would you expect to see? 1- Emission lines 2- Absorption lines 3- Blackbody continuum 4- None of the above A B

43. Questions about Emission and Absorption: The picture to the right is of the Ring Nebula -- a bubble of gas surrounding a small star. If you aimed the Hubble at box B and took a spectrum what would you expect to see? (Note - box B contains a star) 1- Emission lines 2- Absorption lines 3- Blackbody continuum 4- None of the above A B

45. Below is the spectrum for the planet Mars from UV to IR. Which portion of the spectrum is created by reflected sunlight? 1 2 3 4 5

46. Below is the spectrum for the planet Mars from UV to IR. Which portion of the spectrum is created by hot carbon dioxide gas in the upper atmosphere of Mars? 1 2 3 4 5

47. Below is the spectrum for the planet Mars from UV to IR. Which portion of the spectrum is created by Mars’ own blackbody radiation? 1 2 3 4 5

48. Below is the spectrum for the planet Mars from UV to IR. What color does Mars appear? 1 2 3 4 5

49. Below is the spectrum for the planet Mars from UV to IR. Which portion of the spectrum is created by absorption by the red soil of Mars? 1 2 3 4 5