Name ____________________________________________________________ Date _________________

THE HUBBLE LAW Galaxy and Spectra Overview

NGC # Sketch Type Description of Spectrum Keep?

Emission spike around 6600

1357 Spiral
Angstroms; other spikes also
YES

Huge spike at approx 6600 Angs; plus

1832 Spiral
other spikes
YES

2276

Strong (deep dips) absorption; no

2775 Elliptical
emission really
NO

2903

3034

3147

3227

3245

GIGANTIC emission spikes (later

3310 Spiral
eliminated because awful spectrum)
NO

3368

3471

3516

6/23/02 student_answers.doc 1
 NGC # Sketch Type Description of Spectrum Keep?

3623

3627

3941 elliptical Deep absorption lines; no emission at No

all.

4472

4631

4775

5248

5548 Spiral Huge spike around 5100 Angs. and Yes

fat one at 6700 Angsj.

5866

6181

6217 Spiral Huge spike (emission) around 6600 Yes

Angs; small one around 4900 Angs.

6643

6764

7469 Spiral Emission spikes at 4900, 5100, and Yes

around 6700 Angs.

2
Name ______________________________________________________________ Date ______________

THE HUBBLE LAW Data Table

SPECTRAL LINES Galaxy

NGC Average Velocity Distance
Size
Number Ca K Ca H H-alpha Redshift (km/sec) (Mpc)
mrad
3933.7 3968.5 6562.8
3962.0 3997.2 6608.6
1357 0.0071 2100 0.79 28
0.0071 0.0072 0.0070
3960.5 3994.8 6607.0
1832 0.0066 2000 0.71 31
0.0067 0.0066 0.0067

2276

xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx

2775 xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx

2903

3034

3147

3227

3245

xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx

3310 xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx

3368

3471

3516

It is still entirely acceptable to eliminate additional galaxies if spectra are “ugly” and lines are hard to identify.
Just make sure you have a minimum of 10 galaxies for your graph.

You should not have any negative values for redshifts! If you do, you are measuring the wrong lines.

6/23/02 student_answers.doc 3
 SPECTRAL LINES Galaxy
NGC Average Velocity Distance
Size
Number Ca K Ca H H-alpha Redshift (km/sec) (Mpc)
mrad
3933.7 3968.5 6562.8

3623

3627

xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx

3941 xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx

4472

4631

4775

5248

4002.6 4040.9 6675.7

5548 0.0176 5270 0.33 67
0.0173 0.0182 0.0172

5866

6181

3950.3 3985.5 6590.7

6217 0.0042 1260 0.45 49
0.0042 0.0043 0.0042

6643

6764

3990.4 4028.4 6663.2

7469 0.0149 4470 0.34 65
0.0144 0.0151 0.0153

4
Name ____________________________________________________________ Date _________________

THE HUBBLE LAW Table of Results

Hubble Constant km/sec/Mpc

Uncertainty in Ho km/sec/Mpc

Maximum Age of Universe years

Age with deceleration years

Calculations:

Step 6: Questions

1. Compare the speed of the galaxy with the highest redshift to the speed of light. Identify that galaxy and
state its recessional velocity. What fraction of the speed of light is that galaxy receding from us? Comment
on your value—that is, in terrestrial terms, is this speed high? How about celestial terms? (Show all
calculations.)

2. Why does the best-fit line to your data need to go through the origin of your graph? Where does the
"origin" lie in the Universe?

6/23/02 student_answers.doc 5
3. Quantitatively compare your maximum age for the Universe to the age of the Sun (5 billion years), and to
the age of the oldest stars in the Milky Way (approx. 15 billion years). Briefly discuss any discrepancies, or
comment about your comparisons of these ages.

4. Theoretically, your plot should be a straight line, but it probably isn't. Think carefully about the following
sources of error and answer the questions.
a. First, write down the formula you used to determine the distances to these galaxies (the last
column of your data table) and explain each term. State whether the distance is proportional to
or inversely proportional to each of the individual terms on the right-hand-side of the equation.

b. One obvious source of error is the assumption we made that all spiral galaxies have the same
actual diameter. How would an over-estimate or an under-estimate of the actual diameter (not
angular diameter) of a galaxy affect your estimate of the distance to it? Explain. Draw a diagram if
you want.

6
 c. You must have noted that for some galaxies you can see at least a vague spiral arm structure,
while for others (the more distant?) you could not. What would be the effect on your value for the
Hubble constant of your consistently under-measuring or over-measuring the angular diameter
of the galaxies? (Hint: look at the distance formula and the Hubble Law formula, or work with your
graph—this is a harder question.)

d. A third source of error is in the measurements that you make. Quantitatively (give some numbers)
how precise do you believe your measurements to be for the wavelengths? For the angular
sizes? Give one example of something that might affect your precision in your measurements.

5. Another consideration is the fact that galaxies are found in groups or clusters. The motion of these
galaxies through space as they orbit their common center of mass is called peculiar motion. That is, some
galaxies will be receding more slowly than others in the cluster while others will be receding more quickly.
How does this peculiar motion affect your velocity measurements?

6/23/02 student_answers.doc 7
8
Velocity (km/sec)

Distance (Mpc)