Astronomy 102 Problem Set #8

due April 20, 2000, 5:00 pm

Problem #1:
According to recent observations the Hubble constant is 75 km/(sec x Mega Parsec).
a. The hydrogen line at 454 nm from a faraway galaxy is observed at 483 nm. How fast is the galaxy moving away from us?
b. using the Hubble constant, how far away from us is that galaxy?
c. If the galaxy is made of 100 billion stars like our sun, what is the flux from that galaxy?

Problem #2: Read chapter 2 of the book "The Whole Shebang" by Timothy Ferris. Answer the following questions:
a. What are some of the "steps in the distance ladder", methods used in obtaining distances to faraway galaxies?
b. Why is the "steady state universe" model considered less successful than the big-bang theory?