General Astronomy - Spring
2011
Homework #6 - due March 7
1. (5 pt) Draw a sketch of the Milky Way including the center, the
disk,
the halo, and the bulge. Mark the location of the Sun and its
approximate distance from the center.
2. (5 pt) List three types of objects which are mainly found in spiral
arms.
3. (5 pt) Imagine that the orbital period of the Sun around the center
of the galaxy is found to be 1 billion years, instead of the currently
accepted 230 million years. Estimate the mass of the Milky Way
inside the orbit of the Sun using this longer orbital period.
4. (5 pt) A Cepheid is found to have the same oscillation period, but
is
800,000 times dimmer than a Cepheid at a known distance of 1 kpc.
How far away is the dimmer Cepheid?