Do you like astronomy? You think you know something about it? Then you are invited to participate in the 1st Canadian Astronomical Olympiad!
Check the Problems:
1. “Great” oppositions of Mars occur every 15 to 17 years. To simplify the colonization of Mars and improve both environmental conditions and travel time, our civilization has conceived an ambitious project: reduce Mars’ semi-major axis by 6% while keeping the eccentricity of the orbit unchanged. How often would perihelic oppositions of Mars occur in this new orbit?
2. Determine,
ignoring the effects of refraction, the sidereal time and azimuth at the rising
and at the setting of the star ε Geminorum (α = 6h39m·7,
δ = +25°12') at the latitude φ =55°45'.
3. Determine the semimajor axis, revolution period, eccentricity,
and perihelion distance of a comet, which, at 1 AU from the sun, has a speed (v)
directed perpendicular to its radius-vector. Assume that v is 10 times less than
the radial speed of the Earth.
4. How big can an asteroid get before it is
impossible (for a human) to jump into space from it. Make any reasonable assumptions.
5. A binary star has components of
magnitude 2m and 3m. Find the total magnitude of the system.
6. A radio source in the nucleus of an active
galaxy has an angular dimension of
0.001" and a red shift z =
0.5. Estimate the linear dimensions of source in parsecs.
You think you can solve them? If so, send your answers to info@astroclub.ca before May 30th, 2017. You might be one of the lucky winners who will be selected to represent Canada at 11th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics!
Results and solutions will be posted at www.astorclub.ca after June 15th.
The following sources were used in preparations of these
problems:
1. International Astronomical Olympiad (M.G.Gavrilov)
2. B. A. Vorontsov-Veliaminov English
Auth. Astronomical Problems. An Introductory Course in Astronomy 1969
3. V. V. Ivanov, A. V. Krivov, P. A. Denissenkov The Paradoxical universe Saint-Petersburg State
University
