Astrophysics

Our galaxy is Milky Way galaxy. It has about 1011 stars. There are billions of galaxy
beyond out galaxy.
Astronomical distances are measured in light-years (ly). One ly = 1013 km. The Sun is our
star. After the Sun, the nearest star is about 4 ly away and the nearest galaxy is 2 million
ly away. Larger astronomical distances are expressed in parsecs (pc) where 1 pc = 3.26 ly.
The size of an object is determined by the angle the object makes at the observers eye. A
plane on the ground looks so huge. It looks too small when it is flying in the sky.
Q. 1. Draw a 3 vertical line on a sheet of paper. Draw your eye 1 away from the line.
Join the top and bottom of the vertical line to your by straight line. Measure the angle
between the two line one going to the top and the other to the bottom from your eye.
What is this angle?. Now draw another 3 line two inches away on the other side. Again,
join its top and bottom to your eye point by straight lines. Measure the angle between the
lines. What is this angle? Which angle is larger? Object at the location of the larger angle
will look larger. If you were to move from our solar system to another stellar system
from where the Sun and the Earth would appear to make an angle of one arc second to
your eye, that huge distance would be called a pc. One Mpc is one million pc.
Stars are believed to begin life as collapsing masses of hydrogen gas called protostars. As
they contract due to the gravity they heat up. The heating up results from the conversion
of the kinetic energy of a moving hydrogen nucleus as it is attracted to the center of the
star due to gravity. It loses KE in the collision with other hydrogen atoms just to convert
to thermal energy. (Example: when two cars collide, their KE is converted to heat energy
and sound energy). When temperature reaches about 10 million degrees, nuclear fusions
begins, and forms heavier elements, mainly helium at first. This process is called
nucleosynthesis. Helium formation proceeds in three steps. The first step is to form a
deuteron and a positron out of two hydrogen nuclei. Also a neutrino is in the process. In
the next step, a deuteron nucleus combines with a hydrogen nucleus to form light helium
or He-3. In the third step, two light helium combine to form a helium nucleus and two
hydrogen nuclei. In the entire process, four hydrogen nuclei ( 2 at the beginning + one
with each of two deuteron) combine to form a helium nucleus. The mass of the four
hydrogen nuclei is more than the mass of helium nucleus. This difference of mass times
the square of the velocity of light yields the energy production.
The equation can be written as
41H

14He + neutrinos + Energy

Mass of 4 hydrogen atom

= 6.693 x 10-27 kg
- Mass of helium atom = 6.645 x 10-27 kg
Mass difference =
In the eqn. E = mc2, m has to be in kg, and c = 3x108 m/s. Then the unit of energy is Joule
(J); => E = 0.048 x 10-27 kg x 9x1016 = 3.3x10-12 J.

This energy is enough to light a 10-W light bulb for about one-half of a trillionths of a
second.
Solar energy per second is 3.9x1026 W. This is also called solar luminosity. To produce
this energy the Sun has to convert 600 million metric tons of hydrogen into helium within
its core each second.
Q. 2. (a) How many helium atoms would have to be created from hydrogen to release
enough energy to light 60-watt bulb for 12 h? (b) How many Joules of energy would be
released if a U. S. penny (2.5 x10-3 kg) were converted entirely into energy?
Hints. Joule is energy unit. Watt is power unit. 1 Joule/second = 1. Also, Watt x second
= 1 J.
(a) 12 h = 12hx3600s/h = 43,200 s. A 60-watt bulb burning for 43,200 s means it
consumes 60 w x 43,200 s = 2,592,000 J.
From the above example, a single helium atom formation releases 3.3x10-12 J. of energy.
Number of helium atoms that produces 2,592,000 J. of energy is 2,592,000 J/. 3.3x10-12
J.=7.85x1017
(b) E = mc2= (2.5 x 10-3 kg)x( 9 x 1016)=2.25 x 1014 J.
The energy release during these reactions heats up the gas so its outward pressure
balances the inward gravitational force. At this stage, the young star stabilizes as a mainsequence star.
After billions of years, as helium is collected in the core and hydrogen is used up, the
core contracts ad heats further. The stellar envelope expands and cools, and the star
becomes a red giant.
Next stage of revolution depends on stellar mass. Stars of residual mass less than 1.4
solar masses cools further and become white dwarfs, eventually fading and going out
altogether. Heavier stars contact further due to their stronger gravity; the density
approaches nuclear density, the huge pressure forces electrons and protons to combine to
form neutrons, and star becomes a neutron star. Energy released from its final core
collapse is believed to produce supernovae explosions, If the star is very massive, it may
contract even further to form a black hole which is so dense and consequently possesses
so strong gravity that no matter or light can escape.
In the general theory of relativity, the equivalence principle states that an observer cannot
distinguish acceleration from a gravitational field. Another way of saying it is that
gravitational and inertial masses are the same. The theory predicts gravitational bending
of light rays to a degree consistent with experiment. Gravity is treated as a curvature in
space and time, the curvature being greater near a massive object. The universe a whole is
curved. With sufficient mass, the curvature of the universe would be positive, and the
universe is closed and finite; otherwise it be open and infinite.
An approaching ambulance makes louder sound or sound signal of greater strength,
although the real strength of the sound would be heard when the ambulance and observer
are stationary. If the ambulance passes by an observer, the observer hears fainter sound or
sound of weaker signal. The same scenario happens when stars or galaxies are
approaching us or receding away from us. When it recedes away from us, we get weaker
light signal than the actual one. Red light is weakest among the visible colors. So, light
signal from a star or a galaxy that recedes away from us, will have its signal observed
toward the red end of the spectrum. This is called redshift. Distant galaxies display a

redshift in their spectral lines, interpreted as a Doppler shift. The shift is governed by the
simple relation
/o= v/c where v is the speed of the source toward or away from us, and =
o.= the difference in wavelength that is observed. o = wavelength when the source is
stationary. Actually this value is obtained from a laboratory experiment where the source
is held stationary. = observed wavelength when the source is in motion.
Q. 3. A hydrogen spectral line has a normal wavelength of o= 656.285 nm, but in stellar
spectra it is located at = 656.255 nm. o = -0.030 nm. The minus sign indicates that
the star is moving towards us.
From
/o= v/c , v = c /o= (3 x108 m/s)( -0.030 nm x 10-9 m/nm)/ 656.285
nm= - 14,000 m/s
Q. 4. If a star is moving away from us at 100,000 m/s, what is the change /o = ?
The universe seems to be expanding, its galaxies are racing away from each other at
speeds v proportional to the distance d between them:
V = Hd
Which is known as Hubbles law. H is Hubbles constant. The expansion of the universe
suggests an explosive origin, the Big Bang, which occurred 13.7 billion years ago.
H = recessional velocity/separation distance = 71 km/s/Mpc
Which means a galaxy at adistance of 1 Mpc (= 1x 106 pc = 1x06 pc x 3.26 ly/pc x
9.46x1012 km =
? km =
? mi) away from us is moving away at a
speed of 71 km/s.
Q. 5. What is the receding speed of an object 93 million miles away?
.