PH 402 Astrophysics for Engineers

2020 August - December

Assignment 1
D. Narasimha
Room 303, First Floor, next to Library
email: d.narasimha@iitdh.ac.in mobile 7738128266
Purpose: General Background & Training

Write each step of how you will tackle the problem

The statement of STEPs will carry marks - Answer is secondary
Do not try to copy - your friend may have different ideas

Please write your name and email address.

Your aim of taking this elective should be any of the following::

1. Problem solving, managing large and small numbers and writing Algorithms
and Codes that will help you face a Competetive examination.
2. Try some problem like How many LowEarthOrbit Satellites will lead to
undesirable perturbation of the orbits of one due to the others.
Use the inhomogeneity of mass distribution on the earth’s surface at a few
kilometre scale to analyse the stability of the LEO satellite orbits.
3. Some new sentence in your Statement of Purpose which the Job giver will
not find often and what you can defend.
4. Your obligation to the Earth, as a graduate from an Institute of Technology.

We will have many assignments, two examinations and you should do a

miniproject or make a presentation.

1
 1. Radius of Hydrogen atom ∼ 5.3 × 10−11 metres
Mass of hydrogen atom ∼ 1.67 × 10−27 kg.
Gravitational Constant G = 6.674×10−11 m3 kg−1 s−2 .
You have a spherical planet of pure hydrogen atom at a very low temperature
of 13 Kelvin where it has frozen and so each atom touches the neighbour.
One hydrogen atom falls on it from infinity. What should be the minimum
mass of the planet so that the infalling atom has enough kinetic energy to
ionize an hydrogen atom?
Ionization energy of hydrogen: 2.18× 10−18 Joules = 13.6 eV.
[Take your time and write the steps to solve the problem. If you cannot
decide on the method, send an email after 3 days]
2. An LED lamp emits 10 Watts of radiation in Blue at 460 nm. How many
photons are emitted per second?
Planck’s constant is 6.626× 10−34 m2 kg s−1
Velocity of light 3×108 m s−1
3a. What will be the mean temperature of the Earth if all the radiation from
the Sun falling on the Earth is absorbed and reradiated as a Black Body?
3b. Assume that the earth’s atmosphere is transparent to Optical radiation but
absorbs half the far infrared radiation it receives, and reflects half of what
it absorbs back to the earth. What will be its surface temperature?
(suppose Earth radiates at surface temperature Tef f . Radiated Energy =
Energy received from Sun + Energy reflected back from the atmosphere.)
4. You place an Optical Telescope of Aperture 2 metres in a satellite orbiting
the Earth. Can you resolve two stars separated by 0”.05 at a wavelength of
500 nm using this telescope?
Try to find reason why you cannot use this telescope at Gamma Ray fre-
quencies or microwave (∼1 cm wavelength).
5a. A Red supergiant has apparent V magnitude of +11.5 m.
If it has an Absolute Bolometric Magnitude of -8.3 and Bolometric Correc-
tion of -1.3, what is its absolute V magnitude?
5b. What is the distance from us to this star?
5c. If the Sun has an absolute Bolometric Magnitude of 4.75, what is the lumi-
nosity of this supergiant in solar units?