AST-101, Ast-117, AST-602

Stars and Galaxies

Luis Anchordoqui

1 101_4 - September 17, 2019

2 101_4 - September 17, 2019
Newton’s Second Law of Motion

• The force law

– The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the
net force acting on it and is inversely proportional to its mass

• Force = Mass x Acceleration

– The harder you push on something the faster it will
accelerate
– If a force is applied to an object of large mass is will
accelerate more slowly than an object of smaller mass with
the same force

3 101_4 - September 17, 2019

 Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation

• Two objects attract each other with a force (F)

– directly proportional to the product of their masses (M and m)
– inversely proportional to the square of the distance (r)
between them

• Weight on earth = Gravitational Force

• m – your mass
GMm in unit of kg GM
• MF–gravity 2
mgx 10 kg g = 2
mass=of Earth ==5.97 24

• G – Universaldgravitational constant = 6.67 x 10d

-11 m3kg-1s-2

• r – Earth s radius = 6.37 x 106 m

4 101_4 - September 17, 2019

5 101_4 - September 17, 2019
 Satellite Motion

𝐹𝑥 = 𝐹𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣,𝑥 = 𝑚𝑠𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑥 =𝑚𝑠𝑎𝑡 (+𝑎𝐶 )

𝐺𝑚𝑠𝑎𝑡 𝑀 𝑣2
2
= 𝑚𝑠𝑎𝑡
𝑅 𝑅
2
𝐺𝑀 2
2π𝑅
=𝑣 =
𝑅 𝑇

2
4π
𝑇2 = 𝑅3 Kepler’s 3rd Law
𝐺𝑀
6 101_4 - September 17, 2019
 Find mass of Earth

𝐺𝑀𝐸𝑎𝑟𝑡ℎ
𝑔= 2 If 𝐺 and 𝑅𝐸𝑎𝑟𝑡ℎ known:
𝑅𝐸𝑎𝑟𝑡ℎ

𝑔𝑅𝐸𝑎𝑟𝑡ℎ 2
𝑀𝐸𝑎𝑟𝑡ℎ =
𝐺

𝐺: Cavendish balance

𝑅𝐸 : Eratosthenes 200BC

7 101_4 - September 17, 2019

 l

s
1 2 l
l = gt T = 2⇡
2 g
T ! period of pendulum

8 101_4 - September 17, 2019

 Need to use remote sensing means
Two important ways -- density and seismology.

Understanding the Earth's Interior

What We Can Learn from the Density of the Earth

Density = mass/ volume, so we'll need mass and volume.

Get mass from watching the speed and orbit size of a satellite (Moon or
artificial).
Lots down there,
We can't access it.
Get volume from V = 4/3 x pi x r3, where r is the radius of the Earth and we
assume it's a sphere (close enough).
Need to use remote sensing means
Earth's average density is 5480 kg/m3.
Two
Compares with densities of other important ways -- density and seismology.
materials.
Gold: 19300 kg/m3
Lead: 11400 kg/m3
Iron: 7900 kg/m3
Rock: 2500 kg/m3
Water: 1000 kg/m3 What We Can Learn from the Density of the Earth
Ice: 920 kg/m3
Wood: 800 kg/m3
Density = mass/ volume, so we'll need mass and volume.
Good bet iron and rock are major constituents of the Earth.
Get mass from watching the speed and orbit size of a satellite
Even more, since we know that the Earth's surface is mainly rocky, with a
rock-type density, the we can conclude that the deep interior must be even
30 September artificial).
more dense (to make the average as big as 5480 kg/m3).
8/31/19, 4)24 PM

Thus, we know that the core ofGet volume

the Earth from V = 4/3 x pi x r3, where r is the radius of the
must be iron-rich.
And we know that the Earth is differentiated, i.e., the heavy stuff is at the
https://www.eg.bucknell.edu/physics/astronomy/astr101/calpages/30sep05.html Page 2 of 4

assume it's a sphere (close enough).

center and the lighter stuff is on the surface.
That means the Earth was once pretty molten (since stuff had to be able to
move around to differentiate). Earth's average density is 5480 kg/m3.
The Earth must've had a hot period in its early history.
Compares with densities of other materials.
Gold: 19300 kg/m
9 3 101_4 - September 17, 2019
Using Seismology to Map the Earth's Interior
Lead: 11400 kg/m3
 Across the Universe Stars and Galaxies

Night sky provides a strong impression of a changeless universe

G Clouds drift across the Moon + on longer times Moon itself grows and shrinks
G Moon and planets move against the background of stars
G These are merely local phenomena caused by motions within our solar system
G Far beyond planets + stars appear motionless
L. A. Anchordoqui (CUNY) Conceptual Physics 12-5-2017 3 / 19

10 101_4 - September 17, 2019

11 101_4 - September 17, 2019
Impression of changelessness star background is illusory

Barnard's Star

12 101_4 - September 17, 2019

 Across the Universe Stars and Galaxies

Distances involved are so large that we specify them

in terms of the time it takes the light to travel a given distance
light second + 1 ls = 1 s 3 ⇥ 108 m/s = 3 ⇥ 108 m = 300, 000 km
light minute + 1 lm = 18 ⇥ 106 km
light year + 1 ly = 2.998 ⇥ 108 m/s · 3.156 ⇥ 107 s/yr
= 9.46 ⇥ 1015 m ⇡ 1013 km
How long would it take the space shuttle to go 1 ly?

Shuttle orbits Earth @ 18,000 mph + it would need 37, 200 yr

L. A. Anchordoqui (CUNY) Conceptual Physics 12-5-2017 6 / 19

13 101_4 - September 17, 2019

 Across the Universe Stars and Galaxies

For specifying distances to Sun and Moon we usually use km

but we could specify them in terms of light

Earth-Moon distance is 384,000 km + 1.28 ls.
Earth-Sun distance is 150,000,000 km + 8.3 lm
Far out in the solar system
Pluto is about 6 ⇥ 109 km from the Sun + 6 ⇥ 10 4 ly
Nearest star to us + Proxima Centauri is about 4.3 ly away
Nearest star is 10,000 times farther from us
than outer reach of solar system
L. A. Anchordoqui (CUNY) Conceptual
14 Physics 12-5-2017
101_4 - September 7 / 19
17, 2019
15 101_4 - September 17, 2019
Potential for primitive life on icy Barnard b super-earth planet
if geothermal activity exists
I Ribas et al., Nature 563 (2018) 365

16 101_4 - September 17, 2019

 Across the Universe Stars and Galaxies

On clear moonless nights thousands of stars with varying degrees of brightness

can be seen + as well as the long cloudy strip known as Milky Way
Galileo first observed with his telescope that Milky Way
is comprised of countless numbers of individual stars
Half century later (about 1750) Thomas Wright suggested that Milky Way
was a flat disc of stars extending to great distances in a plane
which we call Galaxy (Greek for “milky way”)

Milky Way over Quiver Tree Forest in southern Namibia

L. A. Anchordoqui (CUNY) Conceptual Physics 12-5-2017 8 / 19
17 101_4 - September 17, 2019
 Across the Universe Stars and Galaxies

Galaxy has diameter ⇠ 100, 000 ly and thickness ⇠ 2, 000 ly

It has a bulging central “nucleus” and spiral arms
Our Sun is located half way from the Galactic center to the edge

some 26, 000 ly from the center

L. A. Anchordoqui (CUNY) Conceptual Physics 12-5-2017 9 / 19
18 101_4 - September 17, 2019
 Across the Universe Stars and Galaxies

G Sun orbits Galactic center about once every 250 million years
G its speed is Ù
2p 26, 000 ⇥ 1013 km
v= = 200 km/s
2.5 ⇥ 108 yr 3.156 ⇥ 107 s/yr
G Total mass of all stars can be estimated using orbital data of Sun
G Assume most of the mass is concentrated near center of Galaxy
G Sun and solar system (of total mass m)
move in circular orbit around Galaxy center (of total mass M)
G Apply Newton’s laws
GMm v2
=m
r2 r
G = 6.674 ⇥ 10 11 N m2 kg 2
r v2
M= ⇡ 2 ⇥ 1041 kg
G
G Assuming all stars in Galaxy are similar to Sun (M ⇡ 2 ⇥ 1030 kg)
we conclude that there are roughly 1011 stars in the Galaxy
L. A. Anchordoqui (CUNY) Conceptual Physics 12-5-2017 10 / 19

19 101_4 - September 17, 2019

 Across the Universe Stars and Galaxies

In addition to stars we can see with telescope

many faint cloudy patches that were once called “nebulae”
Those in the constellations of Andromeda and Orion
can actually be discerned with naked eye on clear night
At first it was not universally accepted
that these objects were extragalactic
Very large telescopes constructed in XX century
resolved individual stars within these extragalactic objects
that also contain spiral arms
It became logical that nebulae must be galaxies similar to ours
Distance to nearest spiral galaxy + Andromeda over 2 million ly
a distance 20 times greater than the diameter of our Galaxy
Today it is thought there are ⇠ 4 ⇥ 1010 galaxies
that is as many galaxies as there are stars in the Galaxy

L. A. Anchordoqui (CUNY) Conceptual

20 Physics 12-5-2017
101_4 11 /2019
- September 17, 19
 Across the Universe Stars and Galaxies
1.3 Black-body radiation
Deep field of view as seen by Hubble Space Telescope

L. A. Anchordoqui (CUNY) Conceptual Physics 12-5-2017 12 / 19

Figure 1.2: An excerpt from the Deep Field21View taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.
101_4 - September 17, 2019