Stephanie Nguyen 1

Internet Assessment Task

Cosmic Engine Assessment Task

Define an open star cluster and explain what information the study of open star clusters reveals about
the properties of stars.

An open cluster is a system of related stars that usually originates from

a common molecular cloud, comprised of dust and cosmic gases. These
stars are held together by mutual gravitation. Stars in open clusters are
much more scattered than those in globular clusters. The stars are
concentrated in their central region; they may contain from a dozen to
many hundreds of stars. Open clusters can offer scientists and
astrophysicists the ability to more easily study the impact of variables
on star properties. Open clusters are key objects in the study of stellar
evolution because the cluster members are of similar age and chemical composition, the effects of
other stellar properties are more easily determined than they are for isolated stars.

Define a globular cluster and explain how astronomers have come

to the conclusion that such objects are some of the oldest in the
universe.

Globular clusters are spherical concentrations of stars typically 100

light years across and containing thousands of stars. Globular
clusters are very old, at least 10 billion years old and were
presumably formed when the galaxy was still forming. They are
scattered in a spherical halo surrounding our galaxy and they
require hundreds of millions of years to orbit it. No known
globular clusters display active star formation, which is consistent
with the view that globular clusters are typically the oldest objects
in the Galaxy, and were among the first collections of stars to form.

Research the history of the object designated by astronomers as Messier 1. Account for the existence of
this object and all its constituents.

The explosion of the supernova was around ten times brighter than
our Sun. Around July/August of 1054, Chinese astronomers saw and
recorded the star's death. Appearing in the sky above the southern
horn of the constellation Taurus was a star the Chinese described as
six times brighter than Venus and about as brilliant as the full Moon.
The remains of this star was later given the name ‘the Crab Nebula’,
a cloudy, glowing mass of gas and dust about 7,000 light-years away
from Earth. The nebulae was so bright people saw it during the day
for almost a month. The star had the blazing light of about 400
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Internet Assessment Task

million suns. The star remained visible in the evening sky for one year. Chinese astronomers have
accounted that the star appeared reddish in colour. If the blast had occurred 50 light-years from Earth,
astronomers believe that all living things could have been destroyed by radiation. American Indians
were inspired by this event they drew pictures of it. The supernova was forgotten for more than 600
years until the invention of telescopes, which revealed fainter celestial details than the human eye can
detect. Astronomer Walter Baade observed that in 1942 that a prominent star near the nebula's center
might be related to its origin. Six years later, scientists discovered that the Crab was emitting among the
strongest radio waves of any celestial object. The nebula possessed powerful magnetic activity and X-ray
energy. The nebula’s origin was discovered in 1968 that emitted waves 30 times per second. It was
called the Crab Pulsar and is the fastest and most energetic pulsar formed from a supernova explosion.
The Crab Pulsar acts as a celestial power station, generating enough energy to keep the entire nebula
radiating over almost the whole electromagnetic spectrum.

Explain the significance of Planetary Nebulae.

A planetary nebula is a gaseous shell thrown off by a dying star just

before the star settles down to become a degenerate white dwarf.
Planetary nebulae return to the interstellar medium about 5 solar
masses of material each year (about 15 percent of all the matter
expelled by all sorts of stars). This ejected
matter, enriched in elements such as carbon,
nitrogen and oxygen, is the stuff from which a
new generation of stars will eventually form.

Describe some of the evidence for the existence of black holes with reference
to one real example.

Black holes are believed to be regions where gravity is infinite, where

gravity is so strong that nothing enters them, including light and other debris
from the collapse of stellar bodies. Black holes are relatively small objects
with a mass that is equal to that of a sun-like star.

- Immense clouds containing water vapour: these clouds have been observed circling in the
centre of the galaxy NGC 4258. By tracking the motion of the water vapour clouds with powerful
radio telescopes, astrophysicists can chart the gravitational field of the black hole at the centre.
The clouds move faster and faster the closer they are to the centre, which supports the
existence of a black hole.
- Weight: inside the core of galaxy NGC4261, there is a brown spiral shaped disc. It weighs around
a hundred thousand times as much as our sun. Astrophysicists can measure the radii and speed
of its constituents, and hence weigh the object at its centre. This object is about as large as our
solar system. This means the gravity is about one million times as strong as on the sun. The
object is almost certainly a black hole. Another example is the supermassive black hole in the
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Internet Assessment Task

centre of the giant elliptical galaxy M87. It was found that the object is about 3 billion times the
mass of our Sun and appears to be concentrated into a space smaller than our solar system.

Explain what a binary star is and the importance of the study of such stars to Astronomers.

A binary star is a star system consisting of two stars orbiting

around their common centre of mass. The binary star systems are
important to astrophysicists because their orbits allow the masses of
two stars to be calculated. This allows other limitations such as
radius and density to be estimated. These calculations allow an
empirical mass-luminosity relationship to be created which allows
the masses of single stars to be estimated. Observations of binary
stars have allowed astronomers to determine the masses of stars
and provide a great amount of information on the atmosphere, density and evolution of stars.

Bibliography:

http://www.kopernik.org/images/archive/crab.htm

http://centralastronomyclass.pbworks.com/Binary-Star-System

http://seds.org/messier/open.html

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2001/ast12jan_1/

http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/resources/explorations/blackholes/teacher/sciencebackground.html

http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/eds/overviews/tales/crab.php.p=Teaching+tools@,eds,tools,
%3EHistory+of+science@,eds,tools,topic,history.php