Download Calculating Stellar Distance

NAME: _______________________________________________ DATE: ___________ PERIOD: ______
Calculating Stellar Travel Times.
How Long Would It Take to Travel to the Stars?
Travel To Sirius Questions
Figure out how far a ray of light can travel in one year. This computed distance will be considered ONE LIGHT YEAR, or
the distance that light can travel in one year.
Light travels at a rate of speed = 300,000 km per second
X _____ seconds per minute = _____________________________________________________________ km per minute
X _____ minutes per hour = _________________________________________________________________ km per hour
X ______ hours per day = ___________________________________________________________________ km per day
X ______ days per year = ___________________________________________________________________ km per year
THIS IS THE DISTANCE LIGHT TRAVELS IN ONE YEAR, OR ONE LIGHT YEAR
To make things easier, one light year is rounded to _____________________________________________, or _______
Transportation
Speed
Hours/
year
Distance/
year
Scientific Notation
Distance/year
Distance to
Sirius
Walking
7 km/hr
8.6 x 1013 km
Bicycle
25
km/hr
8.6 x 1013 km
Car
105
km/hr
8.6 x 1013 km
Jet
800
km/hr
8.6 x 1013 km
Space Shuttle
28,000
km/hr
8.6 x 1013 km
Voyager
56,000
km/hr
8.6 x 1013 km
Travel to Sirius
YEARS! (scientific
notation)
1. Why does the Sun look different from other stars? (Hint: Think about distance)
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2. Why do astronomers use the distance light travels in a year to measure the vast distances between stars?
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3. Would it be practical to travel to Sirius by any of the modes of travel listed on the chart above? Why or why not?
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4. Do you think that it is possible that one of the Voyager spacecraft would ever be intercepted by a civilization around
another star, even if such a civilization exists?
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5. What travels at the speed of light that is capable of carrying information? (Think of types of communication that we use
everyday!)
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6. What would be the most practical way to get information from Earth to Sirius if we knew that a civilization existed around
this star?
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7. If perhaps the simulated message that had been received by a radio telescope here on Earth had come from Sirius, how
long ago would it have been sent? Why?
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8. SETI scientists are listening to stars that are within 100 light-years of Earth. Why do you think they have chosen this
limited distance?
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9. Proxima Centauri is the closest star to Earth at a distance of 4.3 light years away. If you stand outside on a clear night
and see the light coming from it, how long ago did the light leave that star? Explain your answer.
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10. "Star Trek" is a TV show in which a starship goes to other star systems in our Galaxy. Can you think of any practical
problems with this idea?
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11. Super Nova 185 (AKA RCW 86) appeared suddenly in the night sky in AD 185. This “guest star” was seen around the
world for about 8 months. The star that went supernova was about 8,000 light years from earth. What year did the star go
supernova? How do you know?
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12. What does the phrase “The deeper astronomers look into space, the farther back they see in time”? How is this true?
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Stellar Distances and History
Directions: Match events in human history with a star or galaxy whose light left it at the same time in the past. Dates within
a few years are acceptable.
For each Important Historical Event, you will need to find out how many years ago that happened. Then match that to the
Distance to Celestial Objects (Hint: Not all celestial objects or historical events will be used.)
Letter
Match
Important Historical Events
Event
Year
Oldest stone tools
2.4 MYA
Animals domesticated
First zoo in China is founded
10,000 BCE
2,000 BCE
Concrete used in Italy
200 BCE
Chinese make steel
400
Rise of kingdom of Ghana in
Africa
Marco Polo visits Mongol
China
st
1 popular printed math
textbook
Galileo develops a
thermoscope, a primitive
thermometer
Telescope invented
Peter the Great is Czar of
Russia
Roald Amundsen reaches
South Pole
Elizabeth II becomes Queen of
England
st
Sputnik (1 satellite) launched
by USSR
John Glenn orbits Earth
First heart transplant
Viking 1 & Viking 2 land on
Mars
Superconducting ceramic
created
First crew to Live aboard
Space Station
MYA = Millions of years ago
MLY = Million light years
800
1275
1478
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
Distances to Celestial Objects
Object
Distance
Closest alien
13 LY
Earth
Fornax Galaxy
432 KLY
Canopus
324 LY
NGC 2841
46 LY
Galaxy
Hourglass
8 KLY
Nebula
Pollux
34 LY
Owl Nebula
12 KLY
Andromeda
Galaxy
2.5 MLY
Altair
17 LY
Vega
25 LY
Rigel
738 LY
Orion Nebula
2,200 LY
Algol
102 LY
Castor
61 LY
51 Pegasi
Pleiades
51 LY
421 LY
Crab Nebula
4 KLY
Sirius
8.6 LY
M67 star cluster
2,700 LY
I
1592
1608
1689
1911
1952
1957
1962
1967
1976
1987
2000
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
BCE = Before Common Era (before year 1 AD)
KLY = Thousand light years
LY = light year