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Lecture 1 2 Distance01

The document discusses various methods for measuring astronomical distances, including radar ranging, parallax, main-sequence fitting, and Cepheid variables. It also explains concepts like apparent and absolute magnitude, luminosity, and radiant flux, emphasizing their importance in understanding the brightness and distance of celestial objects. Key examples include the farthest known galaxy MACS0647 at 13.3 billion light years and the closest galaxy, Andromeda, at 2 million light years.

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3 views

Lecture 1 2 Distance01

The document discusses various methods for measuring astronomical distances, including radar ranging, parallax, main-sequence fitting, and Cepheid variables. It also explains concepts like apparent and absolute magnitude, luminosity, and radiant flux, emphasizing their importance in understanding the brightness and distance of celestial objects. Key examples include the farthest known galaxy MACS0647 at 13.3 billion light years and the closest galaxy, Andromeda, at 2 million light years.

Uploaded by

f20221307
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Astronomical

Parameters
Lecture 2: Distance, Radii, Temperature, Mass
I. DISTANCE
Farthest known Galaxy: MACS0647: 13.3 billion light years.

Closest: Andromeda (M31): 2 million light years.


Cosmic Distance Ladder
Cosmic Distance Ladder
1. Radar Range (within Solar System)
The radar transmits a short radio pulse with very high pulse
power that propagates in this given direction with the
speed of light.
If in this direction is an obstacle, for example an airplane,
then a part of the energy of the pulse is
scattered in all directions. A very small portion is also
reflected and the radar evaluates the contained
information.
Cosmic Distance Ladder
2. Parallax (Nearby Stars)

d = 1/p (d is in parsecs and p in arcseconds)


Cosmic Distance Ladder
Parallax (Nearby Stars)

d = 1/p (d is in parsecs and p in arcseconds)

An arcsecond (denoted by the symbol “) is an anglular


measurement equal to 1/3600 of a degree or 1/60 of an
arcminute. There are also 206,264.5” in a radian, so that 1”
= 4.848 ×10-6 radians.

Limitations: Parallax angles of less than 0.01 arcsec are very


difficult to measure from Earth because of the effects of the
Earth's atmosphere. This limits Earth based telescopes to
measuring the distances to stars about 1/0.01 or
100 parsecs away.
Cosmic Distance Ladder
Parallax ( Nearby Stars )

d = 1/p (d is in parsecs and p in arcseconds)

1 AU = average distance between Sun and


Earth = 1.496 × 108km
Cosmic Distance Ladder
Parallax (Nearby Stars)

d = 1/p (d is in parsecs and p in arcseconds)


More accurately, the IAU has defined the AU as:

“equal to the distance from the centre of the Sun at which


a particle of negligible mass, in an unperturbed circular
orbit, would have an orbital period of 365.2568983 days.”

Direct Method: Most Accurate


The first stellar parallax (of the star 61 Cygni) was measured
by Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel (1784-1846) in 1838. Bessel is
also known for the Bessel functions in mathematical
physics.
Distance (Parallax)
Q1. Sirius, a binary star in our galaxy, is a distance of 2.64 parsecs
away from us. What would the parallax angle in arcseconds be
for this binary star?

1/2.64 = 0.38 arcseconds

Q2. Star A has a parallax angle of 0.82 arcseconds, and Star B has
a parallax angle of 0.45 arcseconds. Which star is closest to
Earth, and by how much?

Star A (1.22 pc) is closest to Earth. It is 1 parsec closer


than Star B (2.22 pc).
Cosmic Distance Ladder
3. Main-Sequence Fitting
Einar Hertzsprung and Henry Norris Russell plotted stars on
a chart of luminosity and temperature. Most stars fall on a
single track, known as the Main Sequence now known as the
H-R diagram.

When looking at a cluster of stars, the apparent magnitudes


and colors of the stars form a track that is parallel to the
Main Sequence, and by correctly choosing the distance, the
apparent magnitudes convert to absolute magnitudes that
fall on the standard Main Sequence.
APPARENT MAGNITUDE (m): Astronomers use the term
apparent magnitude to describe how bright an object appears
in the sky from Earth. The idea of a magnitude scale dates back
to Hipparchus (around 150 BC) who invented a scale to
describe the brightness of the stars he could see. He assigned
an apparent magnitude of 1 to the brightest stars in the sky,
and he gave the dimmest stars he could see an apparent
magnitude of 6. He did not include the sun, moon, or planets
in his system.

The response of the eye to increasing brightness is nearly


logarithmic. We, therefore, need to define a logarithmic scale
for magnitudes in which a difference of 5 magnitudes is equal
to a factor of 100 in brightness.
1. Which of the two objects is brighter? By how much?

Jupiter is approx. 2.83 times brighter than Sirius A.


The apparent magnitude and brightness of a star do
not give us any idea of the total energy emitted per
second by the star.

Luminosity and Radiant Flux

The luminosity of a body is defined as the total


energy radiated by it per unit time. (in erg s−1)

Radiant flux at a given point is the total amount of


energy flowing through per unit time per unit area of
a surface oriented normal to the direction of
propagation of radiation. (erg s−1 cm−2)
The radiant flux of a source depends on two factors:
(i) the radiant energy emitted by it, and
(ii) the distance of the source from the point of observation.
The energy from a source received at any place, determines
the brightness of the source. This implies that F is related
to the brightness b of the source: the brighter the
source, the larger would be the radiant flux at a place.

Flux ~ 1/d2.
Absolute Magnitude
The absolute magnitude (M) of an astronomical object is
defined as its apparent magnitude if it were at a distance of 10
pc from us.
Absolute Magnitude (M) & Apparent Magnitude (m)
a) The distance modulus (m-M) of a star is −1.0. At
what distance is it from us?
6.31 pc

b) If a star at 40 pc is brought closer to 10 pc, i.e., 4


times closer, how bright will it appear in terms of the
magnitude?
16 times

c) A star at a distance of 20 pc is having m = -20. What


will be its absolute magnitude?
M = -21.50
The ratio of radiant flux of two stars at the
same distance from the point of observation
is equal to the ratio of their luminosities.

The amount of luminosity


passing through each sphere
is the same.

Area of sphere: 4 (radius)2

Divide luminosity by area to


get brightness
Cosmic Distance Ladder
4. Cepheid variables
The important feature of a Cepheid Variable that allows it to
be used for distance measurements is that its period is
related directly to its luminosity . This relation allows
us to work out how much brighter than the Sun the star is.
From there we can calculate how much further away the
star must be than the Sun to make it the brightness we see
from Earth.

Consider a Cepheid with a period of 11 days and an


apparent magnitude m = 2.3.
This corresponds to a magnitude difference of 10.
MSUN = 4.8  Mstar = -5.2
Given m = 2.3, M = -5.2, calculate distance r.

316 pc

Most luminous stars: 106 LSun


Least luminous stars: 10–4LSun

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