Andrew Cole-Gonzalez AST 102IN Assignment 5 (11th Edition) Chapter 15 1.

Because the disk and halo are parts of the galaxy that do not have very well defined borders. From afar it may be possible to give a rough estimate of the beginning of one and end of another, but from within that galaxy it would be more difficult to determine. 3. When we observe the rotation curve of the Milky Way, it shows that orbital velocities in the outer disk are the same or faster than those of the areas near the center of the galaxy. This leads us to believe that there is much more mass in our galaxy and particularly the corona that we are able to explain. 5. Disk stars follow closely to nearly circular orbits around the center of the galaxy whereas halo stars and globular clusters follow very elongated and irregular orbits that dip steeply toward the plane of the disk. This is mainly because they are much older stars and have been following these strange orbital patterns for a very long time. 7. Metal-rich stars were formed more recently and follow almost circular orbits around the galactic center. Metal-poor stars formed when the galaxy was very young and are apart of the halo surrounding the disk and galactic center which were formed much later. 9. Spiral tracers are relatively short lived stars and do not leave the spiral arms. Since they dont leave them, the ones we are able to see must be young or else they wouldnt be able to be used as spiral tracers. 11. A lone spiral density wave would most likely create a grand-design spiral galaxy. As the stars continue their orbit, they crash into the gas and dust already in the arms and it may trigger the collapse and compression of the clouds and form new stars. 13. In order to study the galactic nucleus we would need high resolution radio equipment that would be able to get through the dust and gas at the center of our galaxy. By doing this, we will be able to study strong radio sources such as Sgr A* and how it affects the center of the galaxy. 15. Using Keplers third law we can find the mass inside of an orbit and through infrared observations we can detect individual stars orbiting Sgr A*. By current calculations we are able to determine that Sgr A* contains roughly 4 million solar masses. 17. To know a process and understand it are two completely different things. We learn the scientific method because it will give us a foundation to understand it. Once we understand it, then we can perform experiments to try and disprove a hypothesis. By having a scientific

culture of trying to disprove, rather than prove, something then we are able to have higher quality results and allow the research to speak for itself. Chapter 16 1. The civilization would most likely not be able to see a band of light similar to the Milky Way. This is because our galaxy spins like a disk and when we look toward the Milky Way in the sky, it looks like a band because we are looking directly toward the band. In an E0 galaxy, it is assembled like a ball so the people would not really see a thick band of stars, but more evenly placed stars all around them. 3. This is false. Depending on the angle the galaxy is facing Earth with, it may be possible for it to appear circular. This is similar to a football where the tip is pointed directly towards the Sun and it casts a shadow as a circular object. 5. They would not make good distance indicators primarily because they are not very bright. They are extremely dense, however they are at the end stage of their life. The only way one may become noticeable in a distant galaxy would be if it were to become a type Ia supernova such as the white dwarf in the galaxy NGC 1309 in 2002. 7. They are similar because we are comparing the velocities of objects that are moving around their orbit. The only problem with this is that in a rotation curve the outer parts of the galaxy do not decline in velocity like one would expect. This particular fact inspired scientists to theorize about dark matter and its impact on the universe. 9. As two galaxies collide, their gravitational spin and speed are altered. Sometimes when a larger galaxy comes near a smaller one, it may begin to pull sections of the galaxy towards itself. This can elongate a galaxy and make it into an elliptical shape. Similarly if they were to collide directly, it can scatter the stars within each galaxy and when the settles can cause those galaxies to be irregularly shaped. 11. Since a starburst galaxy is the result of a recent collision it is a hotbed for star formation. This affects the interstellar medium in a couple different ways. The first being that is creates very massive stars that eat up the gas and dust inside of the galaxy during their formation. Secondly, because these stars tend to be very massive, supernovae are common and they may blow away remaining gas and dust. 13. When we group galaxies into different types or classes, we are able to compare them directly. By doing this, we can observe how they are different and see subtle changes in their makeup. This allows us to determine how galaxies were possibly formed, progress, change and evolve.