Astrophysics Practice Problems

Give the complete solution for each problem and round-off the final answer
in 2-decimal places.

1. A supernova in M101 (Pinwheel Galaxy) was observed in 2011. Its

observed luminosity is 9.5x109 Lsun and the maximum brightness is
7.5x10-12 W/m2. Use the given information to compute the distance to
the supernova. (5 points)
2. Find the radius of a star when its luminosity is 5000 Lsun and the
surface temperature is 4600 K. (5 points)
3. Calculate the combined mass of the stars in a binary system if the semi-
major axis is 4.5x1012 m and the orbital period is 9.33x107 s. (5 points)
4. The blackbody curve of a hot star peaks at 242 nm. Find the
temperature of this object. (5 points)
5. Suppose that the beam of blue light observed from an object has a
wavelength of 401 nm, instead of 400 nm with which it was emitted.
Calculate the radial velocity of the object. (5 points)
6. Find the wavelength of an FM radio station at 88.5 MHz. (5 points)
7. Compute the wavelength when the electron in hydrogen moves from
level 1 to level 4. (5 points)
8. Barnard star has a proper motion of 10.358 arcseconds per year and a
distance of 1.83 pc. A particular spectral line of iron in the spectrum
of Barnard star has a wavelength of 516.445 nm. As measured in the
laboratory on Earth, the same spectral line has a wavelength of
516.629 nm. [Note: Use all digits of the answer for step-by-step
computations]
Find: (a) tangential velocity (b) radial velocity (c) space velocity
(15 points)

CHALLENGE PROBLEM (10 points and optional)

The difference/comparison in brightness between two main sequence stars in
an open cluster is 2 magnitudes. Their effective temperatures are 6000 K and
5000 K respectively. Estimate the ratio of their radii.