Problem A:

• A: Alpha Centauri (star)

• B: Beta Centauri (star)
• C: The Coalsack Nebula (dark nebula)
• D: Omega Centauri (globular cluster)
• E: Carina Nebula (emission nebula)
• F: Crux (constellation)
• G: Centaurus A (galaxy)
• H: Canopus (star)

Problem B:
Volume of the Milky Way = pi x R2 x H = pi x 500002 x 1000 = 7.85 x
1012
Since there are 0.05 stars/lightyear3
Number of stars in the Milky Way = volume of the Milky Way x 0.05
= 7.85 x 1012 x 0.05 = 3.925 x 1011 stars = 392 billion stars

Problem C:
Given:
The radius of the Earth(R) = 6378 KM
Height of the ISS(H)= 410 KM
(A) We are going to use Newton’s law of universal gravitation to
prove that P(z) = 1 - (1/(1 + z/R)) ^ 2 equals the percentage decrease
in gravitational acceleration:
F = G * m1 * m2 / r^2
Steps:
1.Acceleration at Earth’s surface(g0), where (Z = 0):
g0 = G * M / R^2
2. The gravitational acceleration at an altitude of z:
g = G * M / (R + z)^2
3. We want to find the percentage decrease in gravitational relative to
the surface acceleration (g0). We can relate them to this equation:
P = (g0 - g) / g0 * 100%
4. By substituting the expressions for g0 and g, the equation
becomes like this:
P = (G * M / R^2 - G * M / (R + z)^2) / (G * M / R^2) * 100%
5. By canceling out the common factors(G and M):
P = (1 / R^2 - 1 / (R + z)^2) * 100%
6. We take the multiplicative inverse of both sides:
P = ( (R + z)^2 - R^2) / R^2 * 100%
7. Expand the square in the numerator:
P = (R^2 + 2Rz + z^2 - R^2) / R^2 * 100%
8. Simplify the equation and factor out z:
P = z (2R + z) / R^2 * 100%
9. Since (2R = z) can be written as (1 + z/R) × 2R, we can simplify the
equation further:
P = (z / R) * (1 + z/R) * 100%
10. Since z/R is a very small value compared to 1, for most practical
applications, we can neglect (z/R):
P ≈ (z / R) * (1) * 100%
11. Finally, express z/R as a fraction by taking the multiplicative
inverse of (1 + z/R) and squaring it:
P ≈ (1 / (1 + z/R)) ^ 2 * 100%
We finally got the same equation from the problem by deriving it from
Newton’s law of universal gravitation.

(B) Radius of Earth(R) = 6378 km

Height of the ISS(z) = 410
2 2
1 1
𝑃(𝑧) = 1 − ( 𝑧 ) × 100% = 1 − ( 410 ) × 100% = 11.71%
1+ 1+
𝑅 6378

The perception that objects are weightless arises due to the orbital
motion of the ISS, and the 'balance' between the two key forces
acting on the objects - the gravitation force (pulling them 'down to
earth') and the centrifugal force (pushing them 'out' in the circular
motion
(C) 1. Set P(z) = 0.99 and solve for z, where R = 6378:
1
0.99 = 1 − ( 𝑧 )2
1+
6378

2. get the additive inverse for the equation

-0.99 = -1 + (1/(1+z/6378))2
0.01 = (1/(1+z/6378))2
3. get the multiplicative inverse and the roots of the equation:
1 𝑧
=1+
√0.01 6378

10 = 1 + z/6378
9 = z/6378
4. Finally, solve for z
𝑧 = 6378 × 9 = 57402

Problem D:
Given:
The radius of the Earth(R) = 6378 KM
Height of the ISS(H)= 410 KM

(A) Arc angle = 2 x cos-1( R/(R+H)) = 2 x cos-1( 6378/(6378+410)) =

40 degrees

Since the two sides of the triangle are tangential to the circle
(Earth). Which means that they make a 90-degree angle with
the radius of the Earth. Since the central angle equals 40
degrees, we get the angle theta by constructing a quadrilateral
shape with the 3 known angles plus theta.

Thus 𝜽 = 𝟑𝟔𝟎 − (𝟗𝟎 + 𝟗𝟎 + 𝟒𝟎) = 𝟏𝟒𝟎°

(B) Total distance visible (S) = Arc length = Radius of Earth(R) x Arc
angle( In radians)
𝜋
Arc angle = 40 x = 0.698 radians
180

𝑆 = 6378 𝑥 0.698 = 4451.844 𝑘𝑚

(C) Area of Earth Visible to the astronauts = 2𝜋𝑅ℎ = 2𝜋 × 6378 ×

410 = 16430403.91 𝑘𝑚
The total surface area of Earth = 4𝜋𝑅2 = 4 𝜋 × 63782 =
511185932.5 km
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝐸𝑎𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑢𝑟𝑠
Percentage = × 100% =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝐸𝑎𝑟𝑡ℎ
16430403.91
× 100% = 3.2%
511185932.5
Problem E:

The cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) is a faint

afterglow from the Big Bang, estimated at 13.8 billion years old.
This pervasive relic fills all space with microwave radiation,
peaking at a 1.1-millimeter wavelength corresponding to 2.73
Kelvin (-270.4 degrees Celsius). The CMB boasts uniformity
across the sky with a temperature variation of only a millionth
of a Kelvin. However, the universe's expansion has caused a
redshift of 2.73 Kelvin, further strengthening the Big Bang
theory.

The CMB looks almost exactly the same, no matter what part of
the sky we look at. The term for that in cosmology is
“isotropic”, and the small deviations from perfect sameness
are called anisotropies. Measuring the larger-sized
anisotropies reveals how much dark energy, dark matter, and
ordinary matter are contained in the universe.

The cosmic microwave backround radiation was discovered In

the early 1960s when Dicke and his colleagues began
designing an antenna to detect microwave radiation.
Meanwhile, just a few miles from Princeton University, Arno
Penzias and Robert Wilson of Bell Telephone Laboratories in
New Jersey were working on a new microwave horn antenna
designed to relay telephone calls to Earth-orbiting
communications satellites (Figure 26-6). Penzias and Wilson
were deeply puzzled when, no matter where in the sky they
pointed their antenna, they detected faint background noise.
Thanks to a colleague, they happened to learn about the work
of Dicke and Peebles and came to realize that they had
discovered the cooled-down cosmic background radiation left
over from the hot Big Bang. Penzias and Wilson shared the
1978 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery.