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Exam 2
Astro Exam 2 Chapters 11-14
80
Astronomy
Undergraduate 2
04/09/2013

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Term
The sun is mostly composed of
Definition
hydrogen and helium
Term
The solar core is about
Definition
15 million Kelvin hot dense plasma
Term
The solar flares represent a process of
Definition
magnetic energy release in the solar atmosphere
Term
The sun's outermost layers can be viewed directly during
Definition
solar eclipses
Term
The Solar Dynamic Observatory has recently provided high resolution images of
Definition
-the solar corona
-the solar photosphere
-the chromosphere
-the solar core
Term
In proton-proton fusion chain four hydrogen nuclei fuse together to form
Definition
one helium nucleus
Term
The solar activity cycle is characterized by
Definition
all of the above
Term
The solar corona appears to be so hot because of the heating provided by
Definition
the magnetic field energy driven from the below
Term
The energy flows from the solar core to the solar photosphere due to
Definition
thermal convection and radiation
Term
Loop-like arched shapes of plasma in the solar atmosphere are
Definition
prominences
Term
Hot (multi-million kelvin) and rarefied solar plasma is
Definition
concentrated in the solar coronal active regions
Term
The solar chromosphere produces mostly
Definition
Emission lines
Term
The solar cycle occurs every
Definition
11 years
Term
The continuous spectrum of the Sun is created in
Definition
the solar photosphere
Term
Sunspots are characterized by
Definition
all of the above
Term
Interaction of the solar wind with the Earth's magnetosphere causes
Definition
Geomagnetic storms and Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis events
Term
The sun generates its energy due to
Definition
thermonuclear fusion
Term
The solar wind
Definition
all of the above
Term
To explain cycle variations in the number and location of sunspots at the photosphere, astronomers developed
Definition
the magnetic dynamo theory
Term
Magnetic reconnection is presumably one of the most efficient ways to convert
Definition
magnetic energy into kinetic energy and the heat
Term
The star with twice the Sun's radius and the same surface temp
Definition
is four times more luminous than the Sun
Term
The star with the surface temp of 20,000K emits most of its power in
Definition
a blue part of the spectrum
Term
The star with twice the Sun's surface temp is
Definition
16 times more luminous
Term
The luminosity class of a star determines its
Definition
size
Term
The star of O5 spectral class ________ the star of F5 spectral class
Definition
is hotter than
Term
Our sun belongs to the
Definition
luminosity class V (the Main sequence)
Term
Cooler stars are
Definition
more abundant than hotter stars
and
less massive than hotter stars
Term
Spectral classification is based on the star's
Definition
absorption spectrum
Term
More luminous stars are
Definition
more massive
and
younger than less luminous stars
Term
A star's spectral class defines
Definition
its surface temp
Term
To discriminate between a giant and a dwarf star of the same spectral class astronomers use
Definition
the widths of absorption lines in their spectra
Term
The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram uniquely describes
Definition
the star's mass, temp, color and radius
Term
The star's luminosity depends on
Definition
its mass, temp, radius and color
Term
From the measurements of the apparent and absolute stellar magnitudes astronomers can directly measure
Definition
a star's distance to us
Term
Trigonometric parallax defines
Definition
the star's distance to Earth
Term
Absolute stellar magnitude does NOT depend on the stars
Definition
distance to us
Term
A star of the apparent magnitude of m=5 is ___ than the star of the 6th apparent magnitude
Definition
about 2.5 times brighter
Term
The hotter the star, the greater its
Definition
luminosity
Term
The Main Sequence stars in the H-R diagram contribute
Definition
over 90% of the total population in our Galaxy
Term
A star’s color is uniquely characterized by its
Definition
temp
Term
When starlight passes through interstellar dust
Definition
it gets fainter
and
the blue light tends to be scattered more efficiently than red light
Term
What process stops the contraction of a protostar?
Definition
initiation of thermonuclear reactions in its core
Term
If a protostar's mass is less than 0.08 Msun, it becomes a:
Definition
brown dwarf
Term
Why can't a cloud with less than 0.08 solar masses become a star
Definition
its temp will never rise to 10 million K required for initiation of thermonuclear fusion
Term
Structures that are usually associated with formation of a young star include
Definition
bipolar outflows, collimated jets, stellar winds, and circumstellar disks
Term
What is the range of timescales for a star to reach the main sequence
Definition
from 10,000 years for the most massive stars (100 solar masses) up to 100 million years for the least massive stars (0.1 solar masses)
Term
CNO chain of thermonuclear reactions is efficient if
Definition
a star's core temp is greater than 15,000,000K
Term
When does a star arrive at the main sequence?
Definition
the instant when hydrogen fusion gets ignited in the star's core
Term
The interstellar medium contains
Definition
99% gas and 1% dust
Term
A molecular cloud is unstable to gravitational collapse if its
Definition
mass is greater than about a few hundred solar masses
and
its gravitational force is greater than the thermal pressure force, thermal pressure force is greater than its gravity force
Term
why do protostars are surrounded by rotating disks of gas and dust
Definition
if an initial cloud spins at a slow rate, its spin increases as the clouds contracts
and
conservation of angular momentum
Term
what is the energy source that heats a contracting protostar?
Definition
gravitational potential energy released as the matter is pulled inward
Term
why do astronomers think that stars are formed from clouds of gas and dust
Definition
all of the above
Term
The initial process in the formation of a protostar is represented be
Definition
gravitational collapse of gas and dust
Term
Coronal gas in the interstellar medium is mostly formed due to
Definition
shock waves produced by stellar winds and supernova explosions
Term
regions of ionized hydrogen heated to 10,000K are visible in the optical bands due to
Definition
photoexcitation, photoionization and recombination processes
Term
cold and warm neutral atomic hydrogen is observed via
Definition
21 cm emission line
Term
dust grains heated by stellar radiation are good emitters in
Definition
infrared bands
Term
Molecular clouds represent
Definition
cold and dense complexes of molecular hydrogen
Term
gas accounts for
Definition
99% of the total mass of the interstellar medium
Term
A low-mass (sun-like) star evolves in the following sequence
Definition
photostar, main-sequence, red giant, white dwarf
Term
Low mass stars (sun-like) do not form iron cores during their evolution because
Definition
their cores never become hot enough to create iron by nucleosynthesis
Term
in the late phase of evolution a star's core
Definition
contracts and heats up
Term
triple-alpha fusion chain converts
Definition
helium into carbon and oxygen
Term
As a sun-like star exhausts its hydrogen fuel it takes _____ years to expand into red giant stars
Definition
100 million years
Term
A planetary nebula is a result of
Definition
ejection of stellar material from a star via stellar winds
and
excitation and ionized of atoms via UV radiation with subsequent recombination of elections forming emission lines
Term
A white dwarf represents
Definition
all of the above
Term
A nova star is
Definition
the result of accretion of matter from a main-sequence starts of an evolved red giant star into a white dwarf
Term
in the final phase of evolution of a higher-mass star
Definition
further collapse of its core ignites carbon buring
Term
___ is the heaviest element produced in a series of fusion reactions inside of a high-mass star (greater then 8 solar masses)
Definition
iron
Term
the latest phase of evolution of a high-mass star (greater than 8 solar masses) results in formation of
Definition
blue supergiant star
Term
sun and other young stars have high abundance of heavy elements contributing about
Definition
2% of the total mass
Term
the cooler the star of the main-sequence, the
Definition
larger (wider) its convection region
Term
onion-like structure of the latest phase of a massive star is caused by the fact that
Definition
hot plasma in central region burns heavier elements, while cooler plasma in outer regions of the star burns lighter elements
Term
Supernova explosion occurs at the latest phase of evolution of
Definition
a high-mass star
Term
Supernova explosion may create
Definition
a super-dense degenerate core and a supernova remnant
Term
neutron star represents
Definition
all of the above
Term
a millisecond pulsar star is observed when
Definition
a neutron star spins at the rate of 1000 rotation periods every second
and
beams of radiation formed along the magnetic pole sweep past the line of sight
Term
event horizon of a 10-solar-mass black hole is
Definition
30 Km
Term
Every atom of a heavy element is a human body was formed
Definition
in supernova star
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