National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Goddard Space Flight Center
Imagine the Universe!
Home
Science
Astronomer's Toolbox
Cosmic Objects
Big Questions
Featured Science
Observatories
Special Exhibits
Scientist Profiles
You Be the Astrophysicist
The Cosmic Distance Scale
Educators' Corner
Lesson Plans
Materials
Programs
Ask an Astrophysicist
Resources
Other Resources
Dictionary
Search
Astronomer's Toolbox
Lightcurves, Spectra, and Images - Try This!
Lightcurves, Spectra, and Images
Solution
A.
The graph shows the temperatures (in Kelvin), the intensity of radiation, and the wavelength of radiation for three very hot celestial bodies. Notice the differences in the intensity and wavelength for the three different bodies.
B.
The plot shows the quick-look data for the galaxy CENA. Flux is plotted versus the RXTE Mission Day (defined as the number of days since January 1, 1994, or MJD 49353). Uncertainties in the flux are shown by the vertical bars extending above and below each data point. Marks with crosses are weighted averages over 10 observations.
C.
The Chandra X-ray image of Hydra A shows strands of 35-40 million degree Celsius gas embedded in a large cloud of equally hot gas that is several million light years across. This galaxy cluster is located 840 million light years from Earth.
Which of the above is a light curve?
A
B
C
Which of the above used the Chandra X-ray Observatory in order to gather the data?
A
B
C
In graph A, what is the highest intensity recorded?
23000 K
0.075
1.0
In graph B, what is the average flux, in counts/sec/SSC, at day 3116?
1.0
1.5
5.0
Graph A uses what units for its measurement of wavelength?
millimeters
nanometers
angstroms