Homework Paper
Research each of the following four topics and submit your answers in a document in .docx (Word) or PDF format:
Describe two ways of determining the diameter of a star.
Describe the connection between cepheid variable stars and the period-luminosity relation.
Explain how you would use the spectrum of a star to estimate its distance.
Which method would you use to obtain the distance to each of the following?
a. An asteroid crossing Earth’s orbit
b. A star astronomers believe to be no more than 50 light-years from the Sun
c. A tight group of stars in the Milky Way Galaxy that includes a significant number of variable stars
d. A star that is not variable but for which you can obtain a clearly defined spectrum
Describe the connection between cepheid variable stars and the period-luminosity relation. Explain how you would use the spectrum of a star to estimate its distance.
