8. the birth of stars

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?

a large telescope that dents infrared radiation

Astronomers call a ball of matter that is contracting to become a star

a protostar

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

in giant molecular clouds

Which of the following are the small regions that are the embryos of stars?

the core within the clumps of molecular clouds

What observations about disks of dusty material around young stars suggest that planets may be forming in such disks?

the disks show lanes that are empty of dust within them

A Herbig-Haro (HH) object is

where a jet from a star in the process of being born collides with (and lights up) a nearby cloud of interstellar matter

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

a. the size of a newly forming star is typically quite small and thus hard to make out b. most stars are born inside dusty clouds, which block any light that may be coming from the stars c. birth happens quickly, so it is hard the catch the stars in the act e. prototypes which are not yet doing fusion do not give off a visible light

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

planets only form very late in the star's life, just when it is ready to die, and thus last only a very short fraction of the star's life