PHYS 1905EL 10

Assignment 1
Yousuf Najmee - 0314641
Chapter 1 Answers

Page 1

Chapter 2 Answers

Page 3

Chapter 3 Answers

Page 4

Chapter 4 Answers

Page 6

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Chapter 1
9.

The straight path that the Sun traces from day to day on the celestial sphere

is called the ecliptic. The path of the Earth on the celestial sphere as seen from the
Sun is precisely the same as the path of the Sun as seen from the Earth and
therefore is also called the ecliptic.
It is tilted with respect to the celestial equator because the Earths rotation axis is
tilted 23 away from a line perpendicular to the ecliptic. The line of celestial
equator and ecliptic intersect only at two points which are exactly opposite each
other on the celestial sphere and are called equinox.
Source:
Comins, Neil F., and William J. Kaufmann III. "Discovering the Night Sky." Discovering
the Universe. Eighth ed. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company, 2008. 16. Print.

16.

The beginning of winter in the northern hemisphere occurs when Sun is

lowest in the northern sky on the winter solstice. The amount of daylight increases
daily as the Sun moves northward. The beginning of spring takes places when the
vernal equinox marks a midpoint in the amount of heat from the Sun onto the
northern hemisphere. As the Sun continues to move and reaches the summer
solstice, it is highest in the northern sky and is above the horizon for the most hours
of any day of the year. When the Sun crosses the celestial equator on the autumnal
equinox returning southward, it marks the beginning of fall.

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Source:
Comins, Neil F., and William J. Kaufmann III. "Discovering the Night Sky." Discovering
the Universe. Eighth ed. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company, 2008. 17. Print.

27.

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moons shadow moves across the Earths

surface. As seen from Earth, the Moon moves in front of the Sun. This configuration
occurs during the phase of a new Moon.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earths shadow. This can
happen only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are in a straight line at full Moon.
Source:
Comins, Neil F., and William J. Kaufmann III. "Discovering the Night Sky." Discovering
the Universe. Eighth ed. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company, 2008. 26. Print.

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Chapter 2
9.

A planets sidereal period is the time it would take an observer fixed at the

Suns location watching that planet move through the background stars to go from
one point on the celestial sphere, around the sphere, and back to that same point
again. The sidereal period is the length of a year for each planet.
The synodic period is the time that elapses between two successive identical
configurations as seen from Earth. It can be from one opposition to the next, or from
one conjunction to the next. It tells us when to expect a planet to be closest to Earth
and, therefore, most easily studied.
Source:
Comins, Neil F., and William J. Kaufmann III. "Gravitation and the Motion of Planets."
Discovering the Universe. Eighth ed. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company, 2008.
46-47. Print.

14.

Newtons law of gravitation concluded that gravitational force decreases with

distance. Despite this weakening, the force of gravity from every each object
extends throughout the universe. When scientists discovered that Uranus was not
following the orbit predicted by Newtons laws, they independently calculated that
the deviations of Uranus from its predicted orbit could be explained by the

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gravitational pull of a then-unknown, more distant planet. Thus, the finding of
Neptune by astronomers confirmed Newtons law of gravitation.
Source:
Comins, Neil F., and William J. Kaufmann III. "Gravitation and the Motion of Planets."
Discovering the Universe. Eighth ed. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company, 2008.
58-59. Print.

Chapter 3
6.

The three major functions of a telescope are providing astronomers with

images as bright as possible, to reveal greater detail of the objects that are more
than just points of light, and to make objects larger.
The light-gathering power of a telescope is directly related to the area of the
telescopes primary mirror; Area = (Pi x diameter2) / 4.
Angular resolution measures the clarity of images. The angular resolution of a
telescope is measured as the arc angle between two adjacent stars. The smaller the
angle, the sharper the image.
The magnification of a reflecting telescope is equal to the focal length of the
primary mirror divided by the focal length of the eyepiece lens.
Source:
Comins, Neil F., and William J. Kaufmann III. "Light and Telescopes." Discovering the
Universe. Eighth ed. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company, 2008. 78-79. Print.

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11.

Radio telescopes record radio signals from the sky. Just as a mirror reflects

visible light, the metal surfaces of radio telescopes reflect radio waves. Each radio
telescope has a large concave dish that focuses radio photons in the same way that
an optical telescope mirror focuses visible photons. While optical telescopes are
located in places where light pollution can be avoided, radio telescopes are similarly
located in areas where electromagnetic interference is absolutely minimized.
Radio waves have the longest wavelengths of all electromagnetic radiation. The
angular resolution of a telescope decreases as its wavelength increases and
therefore even the largest radio dish in existence cannot come close to the
resolution of the best optical telescopes. Radio telescopes have allowed
astronomers to detect radio waves in regions (interstellar gas clouds) from where no
visible light is emitted.
Source:
Comins, Neil F., and William J. Kaufmann III. "Light and Telescopes." Discovering the
Universe. Eighth ed. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company, 2008. 90-91. Print.

13.

X-rays from space interact strongly with the particles in Earths atmosphere,

preventing these dangerous radiations from reaching our planets surface. Direct
observations of astronomical sources that emit these extremely short wavelengths,
therefore, must be made from space. Direct observation of x-rays through satellites
and Earth orbiting observatories also prevent any atmospheric interference, thereby
providing better information.

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Source:
Comins, Neil F., and William J. Kaufmann III. "Light and Telescopes." Discovering the
Universe. Eighth ed. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company, 2008. 95. Print.

Chapter 4
7.

According to Weins Law, the peak wavelength of radiation emitted by a

blackbody is inversely proportional to its temperature. This means that as an object

is heated more, the color of the object changes from red-hot (coolest of all glowing
bodies) to blue-hot (hottest state) and the peak of the emission spectrum shifts
from longer wavelengths to shorter wavelengths.
Stefan-Boltzmann Law explains that the energy emitted by an object per unit area is
the proportional at a rate equal to the fourth power of its temperature. In other
words, as the temperature of an object is increased and the color is shifted from red
to blue, the energy emitted each second of the objects surface is increased by a
factor of 4. This corresponds to a change in intensity from longer wavelengths to
shorter wavelengths.

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11.

Electrons change orbits by emitting or absorbing photons. If the electron

starts in its ground state, then it must get exactly the energy necessary to move it
to an excited state. Otherwise, the photons will pass right through the atom.
Absorption lines are therefore caused by photons being taken out of the stream of
light by electrons, which thereby move into higher-energy allowed orbits. The
emitted photons have the same set of wavelengths as the absorbed photons.
In the case of hydrogen atom, when the atom absorbs a H (red) photon, the
absorbed energy causes electrons to jump from a lower state to a higher state.
When this happens, a specific color is absorbed. Then, electrons fall back from that
higher state to the lower state and the energy that is lost goes into emitting the
same H (red) photon. When this happens, the same color that was absorbed is
emitted in the emission spectrum.
Source:
Comins, Neil F., and William J. Kaufmann III. "Atomic Physics and Spectra."
Discovering the Universe. Eighth ed. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company, 2008.
116-117. Print.