Author Question: Briefly describe Sagittarius A. What will be an ideal response? ... (Read 31 times)

Mr. Wonderful

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 866
Briefly describe Sagittarius A.
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

In the context of stellar astronomy, briefly describe dark matter.
 
  What will be an ideal response?



stano32

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 339
Answer to Question 1

Observations show that Sagittarius A (abbreviated as Sgr A) is only a few astronomical units in diameter but is a powerful source of radio energy. The tremendous amount of infrared radiation coming from the central area appears to be produced by crowded stars and by dust warmed by those stars.Since the middle 1990s, astronomers have been able to use large infrared telescopes and adaptive optics to follow the motions of stars orbiting around Sgr A. The size and period of the orbit allows astronomers to calculate the mass of Sgr A using Kepler's third law. The orbital period of the star SO-2, for example, is 15.2 years, and the semimajor axis of its orbit is 950 AU. The combined motions of the observed stars suggest that Sgr A has a mass of 4 million solar masses.At its closest, SO-2 comes within 17 light-hours of Sgr A. The available evidence eliminates alternate hypotheses that Sgr A is a large cluster of normal stars or neutron stars or stellar-mass black holes. Only a single black hole could contain so much mass in so small a region.

Answer to Question 2

According to the modern studies, is clear that significant extra mass lies in the galaxy's halo, extending up to 10 times farther than the edge of the visible disk and containing up to two trillion (2 x 1012 ) solar masses. Some small fraction of this mass is made up of low-luminosity stars and white dwarfs, but most of the matter is not producing any light. Astronomers call it dark matter and conclude that it must be some as yet unknown form of matter.



Related Topics

Need homework help now?

Ask unlimited questions for free

Ask a Question
 

Did you know?

Children of people with alcoholism are more inclined to drink alcohol or use hard drugs. In fact, they are 400 times more likely to use hard drugs than those who do not have a family history of alcohol addiction.

Did you know?

Patients who cannot swallow may receive nutrition via a parenteral route—usually, a catheter is inserted through the chest into a large vein going into the heart.

Did you know?

According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, lung disease is the third leading killer in the United States, responsible for one in seven deaths. It is the leading cause of death among infants under the age of one year.

Did you know?

Interferon was scarce and expensive until 1980, when the interferon gene was inserted into bacteria using recombinant DNA technology, allowing for mass cultivation and purification from bacterial cultures.

Did you know?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released reports detailing the deaths of infants (younger than 1 year of age) who died after being given cold and cough medications. This underscores the importance of educating parents that children younger than 2 years of age should never be given over-the-counter cold and cough medications without consulting their physicians.

For a complete list of videos, visit our video library