Scribd
Upload
154 views2 pages

OWAO 2022 Theoretical Problems

1. The document presents 8 astronomy problems related to celestial motions and properties. It provides relevant constants and information about astronomical bodies like the Sun, Earth, and Moon to help solve the problems. 2. Problem 2 asks about the last greatest evening elongation of Mercury before the olympiad, and the constellation it was in at that time. 3. Problem 8 involves calculating the distance to a planetary system surrounded by a nebula, given the surface temperature difference between the planet's day and night sides when the sun has an apparent magnitude of 20m.

Uploaded by

mamikon
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
154 views2 pages

OWAO 2022 Theoretical Problems

1. The document presents 8 astronomy problems related to celestial motions and properties. It provides relevant constants and information about astronomical bodies like the Sun, Earth, and Moon to help solve the problems. 2. Problem 2 asks about the last greatest evening elongation of Mercury before the olympiad, and the constellation it was in at that time. 3. Problem 8 involves calculating the distance to a planetary system surrounded by a nebula, given the surface temperature difference between the planet's day and night sides when the sun has an apparent magnitude of 20m.

Uploaded by

mamikon
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

Ω𝒲𝒜𝒪‚ 2022 ˛ Theoretical Round ˛ Problems Page 1 of 2

1 Slow down and shine


Proper motion of some star has reduced by 50 % in 10 000 years. How much has the apparent
magnitude of the star changed? Assume that the star was moving linearly at a constant speed.

2 Mysterious Mercury
Here are a few celestial events for October 2022:

October 9 — Mercury at greatest elongation;


October 24 — Mercury occultation by the Moon;
October 25 — partial solar eclipse.

When was the last greatest evening elongation of Mercury before the olympiad? In what
constellation was Mercury at that time? Assume Mercury’s orbit is circular with radius
𝑟𝑀 “ 0.387 au.

3 Anti-Earth
Imagine that Anti-Earth really exists and moves exactly along the orbit of the Earth so that
it passes aphelion at the moment when the Earth passes perihelion and vice versa. Neglect
the gravitational interaction between the Earth and Anti-Earth.
Let the Earth be at perihelion, Anti-Earth at aphelion at some point in time. Which of them
and how much earlier will cross the minor axis of the orbit? Can observers detect Anti-Earth
when the Earth crosses the minor axis of the orbit?

4 Red Skies
A close binary star consists of two components with the same brightness in the V band:

№ Spectral class True 𝐵 ´ 𝑉 True 𝑈 ´ 𝐵


1 M2 `1.8 `2.1
2 B8 ´0.1 ´0.6

Determine the color indices of the binary star after passing through the Earth’s atmosphere
at an altitude of 45˝ . Which of the components has a greater color excess due to atmospheric
absorption? Consider only Rayleigh scattering 𝜎 9 𝜆´4 , with absorption 𝐴𝑉 “ 0.30m
in the V band at the zenith.

5 Follow the Shadow


Occultation of a star by the Moon begins on Earth at the North Pole, and ends at a point
with latitude 33˝ North on the prime meridian (0˝ longitude) at 0h local time. Find the star’s
equatorial coordinates and the occultation date.
Ω𝒲𝒜𝒪‚ 2022 ˛ Theoretical Round ˛ Problems Page 2 of 2

6 Orbital Time Machine


Light-collecting area of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is about 25 m2 . Estimate how
long it takes to catch 10 photons emitted by a solar type star in a galaxy at redshift 𝑧 “ 0.2.
The JWST wavelength coverage is 0.6 – 28.5 µm (orange to mid-infrared). Assume that
the JWST is equipped with a single detector capable of registering photons over the entire
wavelength coverage of the telescope.

7 Polar Wi-Fi
A satellite is moving in a polar geocentric orbit with semi-major axis 𝑎 “ 15 400 km, eccentricity
𝑒 “ 0.55, and argument of pericenter 𝜔 “ 270˝ . Imagine that an observer is at the North Pole
of the Earth. The satellite emits a signal with a frequency of 2.4 GHz. At some point in time,
the satellite is observed on the horizon.
Estimate
a) the distance from the observer to the satellite,
b) the total velocity of the satellite at that moment,
c) the shift in the observed signal frequency.

8 Perfect Nebula
A planet with synchronous rotation orbits a star in a circular orbit. The planet
has no atmosphere, but the system is surrounded by a large homogeneous spherical gaseous
nebula. This nebula does not absorb light, but only scatters it isotropically and with the same
scattering properties for all wavelengths.
The surface temperature of the planet at the point facing the star is twice that of the opposite
point. The Sun’s apparent magnitude on the planet’s surface is 20m . Find the distance
to the system. Ignore interstellar extinction.

Constants
Universal Moon
8
Speed of light 𝑐 “ 3.00 ¨ 10 m{s Radius 𝑅K “ 1737 km
Planck constant ℎ “ 6.63 ¨ 10´34 J ¨ s Orbital period 𝑇K “ 27.32d
Hubble constant 𝐻0 “ 70 pkm{sq{Mpc Orbital inclination 𝑖K “ 5.1˝
Astronomical unit 1 au “ 149.6 ¨ 106 km Sun
Parsec 1 pc “ 206 265 au
Radius 𝑅d “ 6.96 ¨ 105 km
Earth Absolute magnitude 𝑀d “ 4.74m
Effective temperature 𝑇d “ 5.8 ¨ 103 K
Radius 𝑅‘ “ 6371 km
Obliquity 𝜀 “ 23.4˝ UBV system Mean wavelengths
Surface gravity 𝑔 “ 9.81 m{s2 U band 𝜆𝑈 “ 364 nm
Orbital period 𝑇‘ “ 365.26d B band 𝜆𝐵 “ 442 nm
Orbital eccentricity 𝑒‘ “ 0.0167 V band 𝜆𝑉 “ 540 nm

You might also like