General Astronomy - Spring 2011
Homework #8 - due March 28




1. (4 pt) Calculate the fractional gravitational redshift for light emitted from the surface of a star with a mass of 10 solar masses and a radius of one Earth radius.

2. (3 pt) What is the Schwarzschild radius of a 3,000,000 solar mass black hole?

3. (4 pt) What is the maximum possible amount of energy which could be released by dropping 1 kg of hydrogen gas onto a maximally rotating black hole?

4. (3 pt) A black hole is observed at a luminosity of 1033 W.  What does this tell us about the black hole mass?

5. (6 pt) Calculate the peak temperature of the blackbody radiation from a 100 solar mass black hole radiating at the Eddington luminosity.