HW 001002

due in 2 weeks

1. What is the angle between the right-  and the left-hand palms in arcseconds for a person (1) standing at the very southern tip of Taiwan with arms fully stretched?  (2)  standing on the surface of the moon?
2. What is the maximal angle between Jupiter and the Sun, as seen from the nearest star from the solar system, Alpha Centauri? 
3. A 9th magnitude star has an annual parallax of 0.01".  What is its distance?  What is its absolute magnitude?  How much energy does it emit per second? 
4. Check out from the web the flight routes between Taipei and New York.  Make a photocopy of a world map and mark the route on the map.  Why isn't this a straight line on the map?
5. Check out from the web to find one future space program that is related to astronomy research (e.g., a space observing facility). Describe the mission about its main scientific goals, participating countries, approximate cost, etc. You should always quote the references.