Exam 21: The Birth of Stars and the Discovery of Planets Outside the Solar System

An astronomy class is so excited by the discovery of planets around other stars that they decide to do a library exhibit on the subject so that everyone in the school can learn about it. In this exhibit they want to pay tribute to both the astronomers of today who have done the work AND some of the scientists of the past whose work was essential to making the discoveries possible (and directly related to the techniques involved). Which of the following scientists of the past should definitely be included in the exhibit?

Why is it so difficult for astronomers to see new stars in the process of birth?

A graduate student is given the assignment to find stars with dusty disks around them. What kind of telescope would it be best for her to use for this purpose?

You are an astronomy graduate student and you are observing the big Orion Nebula from an airplane that has a good-sized infrared telescope built into it (there really is such a plane.) On an infrared image of the Nebula, what would particularly stand out?

Astronomers identify the "birth" of a real star (as opposed to the activities of a protostar) with what activity in the star?

The first ordinary star (other than our own Sun) around which planets were definitely discovered was:

Astronomers were surprised to find so many Jupiter-mass planets so close to their stars. According to their best theories and models, such "hot Jupiters"

In figuring out the evolutionary tracks on the H-R diagram, astronomers

When a star settles down to a stable existence as a main-sequence star, what characteristics determines where on the main sequence in an H-R diagram the star will fall?

Why was the Kepler mission not able to find planets smaller than Mars, even though it was in space (and had no Earth atmosphere to deal with)?

The closest star to the Sun, Proxima Centauri, was recently found to have a planet in its habitable zone. Proxima Centauri is a main sequence star with spectral type M. How would its habitable zone differ from the habitable zone of our Sun?

Planets in the habitable zone of their stars:

Astronomers studying regions like the Orion Giant Molecular Cloud have observed that a wave of star formation can move through them over many millions of years. What sustains such a wave of star formation in a giant molecular cloud?

Which of the following is NOT one of the reasons planets around other stars are so difficult to detect?

The first (living) star other than our own Sun found to have more than one planet orbiting it is called

What technique did astronomers use to make the first confirmed discovery of a planet around another star like the Sun?

How did astronomers determine that the planet orbiting the star HD 209458 is a gas giant like Jupiter and not made mostly of rocks or metals?

If you want to find stars that are just being born, where are the best places to search?

Which of the following is a reason that astronomers have not found giant planets with the orbit of Neptune around other stars?

Astronomers believe that disks of material will form around protostars that are spinning. Which of the following observed phenomena is a good indication of the presence of a disk around a protostar?