Astronomy C

[Unome]

omitted for brevity

Okay so, I keep trying the equation for the total mass, and I keep getting 2.4... which is ~not~ the answer... so hehe if it wouldn't be too much, could you maybe walk me through it? I feel like such a child asking this, but I am a literal child

I'm getting a total mass of 38.5 solar masses. and for the units you want, and plug into .


On an unrelated topic, does anyone have any sources on why pulsar jets emit in radio as opposed to other spectral regions? I can't seem to find anything on this topic.

[jonboyage]

omitted for brevity

Okay so, I keep trying the equation for the total mass, and I keep getting 2.4... which is ~not~ the answer... so hehe if it wouldn't be too much, could you maybe walk me through it? I feel like such a child asking this, but I am a literal child

I'm getting a total mass of 38.5 solar masses. and for the units you want, and plug into .


On an unrelated topic, does anyone have any sources on why pulsar jets emit in radio as opposed to other spectral regions? I can't seem to find anything on this topic.

You forgot to half the separation to get the semi major axis. Divide your answer by 8 Unome and then you get the answer: 4.818 solar masses.

Pulsars emit primarily in the radio portion of the spectrum due to synchrotron radiation. The magnetic field happens to cause electrons to emit radio waves when they change their velocity in that particular way when trapped in the magnetic field of the neutron star. Of course, synchrotron radiation isn’t limited to radio and can be detected even in the gamma range for certain objects.

[NePickers5]

Okay so, I keep trying the equation for the total mass, and I keep getting 2.4... which is ~not~ the answer... so hehe if it wouldn't be too much, could you maybe walk me through it? I feel like such a child asking this, but I am a literal child

I'm getting a total mass of 38.5 solar masses. and for the units you want, and plug into .


On an unrelated topic, does anyone have any sources on why pulsar jets emit in radio as opposed to other spectral regions? I can't seem to find anything on this topic.

You forgot to half the separation to get the semi major axis. Divide your answer by 8 Unome and then you get the answer: 4.818 solar masses.

Pulsars emit primarily in the radio portion of the spectrum due to synchrotron radiation. The magnetic field happens to cause electrons to emit radio waves when they change their velocity in that particular way when trapped in the magnetic field of the neutron star. Of course, synchrotron radiation isn’t limited to radio and can be detected even in the gamma range for certain objects.

I am confuuuuused the practice test says the total mass was 14.36 solar masses but maybe it's wrong that explains a lot

[jonboyage]

I'm getting a total mass of 38.5 solar masses. and for the units you want, and plug into .


On an unrelated topic, does anyone have any sources on why pulsar jets emit in radio as opposed to other spectral regions? I can't seem to find anything on this topic.

You forgot to half the separation to get the semi major axis. Divide your answer by 8 Unome and then you get the answer: 4.818 solar masses.

Pulsars emit primarily in the radio portion of the spectrum due to synchrotron radiation. The magnetic field happens to cause electrons to emit radio waves when they change their velocity in that particular way when trapped in the magnetic field of the neutron star. Of course, synchrotron radiation isn’t limited to radio and can be detected even in the gamma range for certain objects.

I am confuuuuused the practice test says the total mass was 14.36 solar masses but maybe it's wrong that explains a lot

I’m not sure where 14.36 comes from, but I don’t think I did anything wrong. :/

[alchzh]

Yeah I'm kind of confused how we're somehow off by a factor of 3.

[JCicc]

There is a mistake in this exam (the mistake is not on the answer key, but in the exam itself). My apologies to anyone agonizing over this problem. This is from the 2014 PA state exam. The separation of the stars should be listed as 1.56E10 m.

[Unome]

There is a mistake in this exam (the mistake is not on the answer key, but in the exam itself). My apologies to anyone agonizing over this problem. This is from the 2014 PA state exam. The separation of the stars should be listed as 1.56E10 m.

While you're here - would you happen to know whether to use distance or half of the distance in Kepler's third law? I've seen it both ways in the past but no one I've talked to seems to have a definitive answer on this.

[jonboyage]

There is a mistake in this exam (the mistake is not on the answer key, but in the exam itself). My apologies to anyone agonizing over this problem. This is from the 2014 PA state exam. The separation of the stars should be listed as 1.56E10 m.

While you're here - would you happen to know whether to use distance or half of the distance in Kepler's third law? I've seen it both ways in the past but no one I've talked to seems to have a definitive answer on this.

Never mind I was wrong you do actually use the separation for “a.” (And not just because the answer works out, I looked it up). Ahhhhh why do I suck lol...

[Alex-RCHS]

There is a mistake in this exam (the mistake is not on the answer key, but in the exam itself). My apologies to anyone agonizing over this problem. This is from the 2014 PA state exam. The separation of the stars should be listed as 1.56E10 m.

While you're here - would you happen to know whether to use distance or half of the distance in Kepler's third law? I've seen it both ways in the past but no one I've talked to seems to have a definitive answer on this.

Never mind I was wrong you do actually use the separation for “a.” (And not just because the answer works out, I looked it up). Ahhhhh why do I suck lol...

Wait so is it the distance between the stars or half the distance between the stars? Now I'm confused. I always thought it was the semi-major axis of the star's orbit. (half the distance of separation between the two.)

[alchzh]

While you're here - would you happen to know whether to use distance or half of the distance in Kepler's third law? I've seen it both ways in the past but no one I've talked to seems to have a definitive answer on this.

Never mind I was wrong you do actually use the separation for “a.” (And not just because the answer works out, I looked it up). Ahhhhh why do I suck lol...

Wait so is it the distance between the stars or half the distance between the stars? Now I'm confused. I always thought it was the semi-major axis of the star's orbit. (half the distance of separation between the two.)

Isn't it the sum of the two semi-major axes of the elliptical orbits of the two stars which is just the separation?