BINARYSTARS-
CASE STUDY
[Physics
of Binary Stars] [Binary Star Case Study][CaseStudySolution]
Gravitation|Astronomy|Topics
Stackpole (a keen
amateur astronomer) looks through his telescope and
observes a binary
star system consisting of the two very bright stars, Enealor and Adwern
in the constellation of Kethanire. Careful analysis by Stackpole reveals
the
following:
-
the mass of Enealor
is 3x1030 kg
-
the mass of Adwern is
twice that of Enealor
-
the stars are separated
by a distance of 100 million km
-
the double star system
is seen to be receding at 2 thousand km/sec.
In addition , Stackpole
makes a continuous spectral analysis of the 434.05nm hydrogen line with
his spectrometer.
.
Can you explain
(quantitatively) the following observations ?
-
The wavelength of the
434.05nm hydrogen line appears 2.89nm longer as observed from the receding
binary system.
-
Over a period of 47 days
continuous observation, Stackpole observes the 434.05nm hydrogen line split
into two separate lines which are 0.16nm apart.
-
Solution
!
Binary
Star Physics | Back To The Top