- #1
Thomas Smith
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- Homework Statement
- The binary system has a parallax of 0.07 arc seconds. This system consists of two identical stars in circular orbits.
An absorption line at a wavelength of 512nm is seen in the spectra of both stars. This line is split into two components by the orbital motion and has a maximum separation of 0.04nm, which occurs every 26 years.
What's the separation distance between both stars?
- Relevant Equations
- Distance to Star System from parallax d=1/p
Doppler Shift Δλ = λ - λ_0
Radical Velocity v_r=Δλ/λ_0 c
Distance is d=1/0.07 = 14.3 parsecs
The Doppler shift of one star is, Δλ = 512 - 512.04 = -0.04
So the radical of the velocity of the star is = (-0.04/512) x (3.00 x 10^5 km/s) = 23.4km/s which is the same for both stars because they have the same mass.
This is as far as I've got.
The Doppler shift of one star is, Δλ = 512 - 512.04 = -0.04
So the radical of the velocity of the star is = (-0.04/512) x (3.00 x 10^5 km/s) = 23.4km/s which is the same for both stars because they have the same mass.
This is as far as I've got.
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