Astronomy C

Test your knowledge of various Science Olympiad events.
User avatar
pikachu4919
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 716
Joined: December 7th, 2012, 2:30 pm
Division: Grad
State: IN
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Has thanked: 89 times
Been thanked: 167 times

Astronomy C

Post by pikachu4919 »

2022 Question Marathon Thread for Astronomy C.

Question Marathons Explained

Carmel HS (IN) '16
Purdue BioE '21? reevaluating my life choices
Nationals 2016 ~ 4th place Forensics


"It is important to draw wisdom from different places. If you take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale." -Uncle Iroh

About me || Rate my tests!
Opinions expressed on this site are not official; the only place for official rules changes and FAQs is soinc.org.

MY CABBAGES!
melaniaaachen
Member
Member
Posts: 6
Joined: August 31st, 2021, 11:57 pm
Division: B
State: AK
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Astronomy C

Post by melaniaaachen »

Well, let's get this started with something simple and essential then:

1. What is the Solar Cycle?

2. What is the Hubble constant?
User avatar
RasmitDevkota
Member
Member
Posts: 54
Joined: October 23rd, 2020, 6:27 pm
Division: C
State: GA
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Has thanked: 14 times
Been thanked: 36 times
Contact:

Re: Astronomy C

Post by RasmitDevkota »

melaniaaachen wrote: October 6th, 2021, 2:26 am Well, let's get this started with something simple and essential then:

1. What is the Solar Cycle?

2. What is the Hubble constant?
1. The solar cycle is an 11-year cycle where, between each cycle, the Sun flips its magnetic field, affecting surface features such as sunspots and solar flares as well as the intensity of solar radiation.
2. Hubble's constant is a value that tells us how fast two points in space are moving away from each other as the universe expands based on their distance. The value of the constant is currently estimated to be somewhere around 70 km/s/Mpc, but due to the possibility of acceleration in the expansion in the universe it is not a true constant with respect to time and thus may vary over time.
User avatar
RasmitDevkota
Member
Member
Posts: 54
Joined: October 23rd, 2020, 6:27 pm
Division: C
State: GA
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Has thanked: 14 times
Been thanked: 36 times
Contact:

Re: Astronomy C

Post by RasmitDevkota »

RasmitDevkota wrote: October 21st, 2021, 9:10 am
melaniaaachen wrote: October 6th, 2021, 2:26 am Well, let's get this started with something simple and essential then:

1. What is the Solar Cycle?

2. What is the Hubble constant?
1. The solar cycle is an 11-year cycle where, between each cycle, the Sun flips its magnetic field, affecting surface features such as sunspots and solar flares as well as the intensity of solar radiation.
2. Hubble's constant is a value that tells us how fast two points in space are moving away from each other as the universe expands based on their distance. The value of the constant is currently estimated to be somewhere around 70 km/s/Mpc, but due to the possibility of acceleration in the expansion in the universe it is not a true constant with respect to time and thus may vary over time.
It's been a while so I'll just continue where we left off!

a) What is the practical application of RR Lyrae in astronomy and b) what property of this variable star class makes them useful in this way?
These users thanked the author RasmitDevkota for the post:
Jehosaphat (February 8th, 2022, 10:32 am)
User avatar
Jehosaphat
Member
Member
Posts: 55
Joined: November 8th, 2018, 3:50 pm
Division: Grad
State: MI
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Has thanked: 38 times
Been thanked: 20 times
Contact:

Re: Astronomy C

Post by Jehosaphat »

a)
 RR Lyrae stars can be used as standard candles to measure stellar distances
b)
 All RR Lyrae stars have the same average absolute magnitude (so when observed in clusters, find the average apparent magnitude and then distance can be calculated)
Ok my turn:
1. What is the region of the HR diagram that variable stars generally reside in?

2. What causes the fluctuations in variable star's luminosity?
Last edited by Jehosaphat on February 8th, 2022, 10:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
Waiting for the return of Ecology all by myself
HHS '22
Hope '26
RiverWalker88
Exalted Member
Exalted Member
Posts: 163
Joined: February 24th, 2020, 7:14 pm
Division: Grad
State: NM
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Has thanked: 98 times
Been thanked: 204 times

Re: Astronomy C

Post by RiverWalker88 »

Jehosaphat wrote: February 8th, 2022, 10:31 am a)
 RR Lyrae stars can be used as standard candles to measure stellar distances
b)
 All RR Lyrae stars have the same average absolute magnitude (so when observed in clusters, find the average apparent magnitude and then distance can be calculated)
Ok my turn:
1. What is the region of the HR diagram that variable stars generally reside in?

2. What causes the fluctuations in variable star's luminosity?
1. THE INSTABILITY STRIP!!!
2. Changes in opacity in the star's atmosphere; helium is ionized, so it becomes opaque and light pushes out, increasing the radius. Temperature then decreases, so helium becomes un-ionized (I forgot the proper term for that) and transparent, so the light is no longer pushes out and the star can contract back down, repeating the cycle.
Hello, I'm back with another signature complicated analysis question for you! This time: A chart with COMIC SANS for you to analyze.
Screenshot 2022-03-01 233412.jpg
Screenshot 2022-03-01 233412.jpg (88.6 KiB) Viewed 3199 times
The scale for the graph above shows log(number of cataclysmic variables). The y-axis of the graph shows the logarithm of the mass accretion rate for the binary system.
  1. The most common type of cataclysmic variable seems to have a period in the range of how many hours?
  2. Binary system A has a period of four hours. Binary system B has a period of five hours. Based on this chart, which isprobably accreting at a faster rate?
  3. In which group on this chart would most known recurrent novae lie? How did you come to your answer?
These users thanked the author RiverWalker88 for the post:
Jehosaphat (March 9th, 2022, 7:40 am)
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology '26, Physics
User avatar
Jehosaphat
Member
Member
Posts: 55
Joined: November 8th, 2018, 3:50 pm
Division: Grad
State: MI
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Has thanked: 38 times
Been thanked: 20 times
Contact:

Re: Astronomy C

Post by Jehosaphat »

a) 1-2 hours
b) Binary System B
c) The upper right group. The mass accretion rates for recurrent novae are higher, so the upper group would make sense.
Here are some of my own:

1. A type 1a supernova occurred at a measured parallax of 0.103 mas, what was its apparent magnitude?
2. At what distance are two stars in a binary system orbiting each other if Star A weighs 1.2 solar masses, Star B weighs 2.3 solar masses, and they complete one revolution once every 46 years?
3. What is the distance to a RR Lyrae type variable star if its apparent magnitude is 9.4 and it's period is 0.89 days?
These users thanked the author Jehosaphat for the post:
RiverWalker88 (March 9th, 2022, 8:28 am)
Waiting for the return of Ecology all by myself
HHS '22
Hope '26
RiverWalker88
Exalted Member
Exalted Member
Posts: 163
Joined: February 24th, 2020, 7:14 pm
Division: Grad
State: NM
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Has thanked: 98 times
Been thanked: 204 times

Re: Astronomy C

Post by RiverWalker88 »

[list=1]
[*] 1/(0.103/1000) = 9708.7 pc. 
m+19.3 = -5+5log(9708.7)
m = -4.364
[*] p^2 = a^3/m => a = [46^2/(1.2+2.3)]^(1/3) = 8.46 AU
[*] Since you didn't provide a PL relationship, I'm going to use one I looked up from https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1086/591231/pdf and hope it's close enough (I use Z=0.0005 from 2. Models).

M = 0.839-1.295 log(0.89) + 0.211log(0.0005); M = 0.208
m-M = -5+5log d; d = 689.29 pc
[/list]
A Deep Sky Object Question:
  1. Identify the DSO in the attached figure.
  2. What wavelength band (Radio, Microwave, Infrared, etc.) were the two images taken in?
  3. Look at the Hα image. Surrounding the nebula is a shell-like structure that isn't visible in the NII image. Where might this have come from?
  4. Why might we be able to see this shell when looking at Hα emission, but not NII emission?
Attachments
PNDSONIIHa.jpg
PNDSONIIHa.jpg (34.84 KiB) Viewed 2768 times
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology '26, Physics
User avatar
AstroClarinet
Member
Member
Posts: 67
Joined: August 6th, 2020, 9:56 am
Division: C
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Has thanked: 101 times
Been thanked: 38 times

Re: Astronomy C

Post by AstroClarinet »

RiverWalker88 wrote: March 26th, 2022, 8:47 pm A Deep Sky Object Question:
  1. Identify the DSO in the attached figure.
  2. What wavelength band (Radio, Microwave, Infrared, etc.) were the two images taken in?
  3. Look at the Hα image. Surrounding the nebula is a shell-like structure that isn't visible in the NII image. Where might this have come from?
  4. Why might we be able to see this shell when looking at Hα emission, but not NII emission?
a. IC 4593 
b. Visible light
c. Mass loss during the TP-AGB 
d. Some probably terrible guesses: Only the very outer layers of the star were lost, which are rich in hydrogen but don't have much nitrogen. Or, there is nitrogen in the outer shell but emission lines are not produced since conditions aren't right in the shell to produce forbidden N II lines. 
AstroClarinet's Userpage
Nats: Remote sensing 3rd 2x, Astronomy 6th, Cell Bio 3rd
 Astro, Genes, Water, DigiStructures, Solar System, Boomi, Density, Eco, Optics, Towers, Microbe, Mission Possible
RiverWalker88
Exalted Member
Exalted Member
Posts: 163
Joined: February 24th, 2020, 7:14 pm
Division: Grad
State: NM
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Has thanked: 98 times
Been thanked: 204 times

Re: Astronomy C

Post by RiverWalker88 »

AstroClarinet wrote: April 2nd, 2022, 9:15 am
RiverWalker88 wrote: March 26th, 2022, 8:47 pm A Deep Sky Object Question:
  1. Identify the DSO in the attached figure.
  2. What wavelength band (Radio, Microwave, Infrared, etc.) were the two images taken in?
  3. Look at the Hα image. Surrounding the nebula is a shell-like structure that isn't visible in the NII image. Where might this have come from?
  4. Why might we be able to see this shell when looking at Hα emission, but not NII emission?
a. IC 4593 
b. Visible light
c. Mass loss during the TP-AGB 
d. Some probably terrible guesses: Only the very outer layers of the star were lost, which are rich in hydrogen but don't have much nitrogen. Or, there is nitrogen in the outer shell but emission lines are not produced since conditions aren't right in the shell to produce forbidden N II lines. 
Yep, those look right. I had the first thing you answered in mind for (d) but the second one also makes sense.

Your move.
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology '26, Physics
Post Reply

Return to “2022 Question Marathons”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest