John Tyler Fish
ASTR 100
Section 0103
2/13/2018
Homework #1
1) Give three reasons why a solar total eclipse is such a big deal
a. You can see the pearly glow of the sun’s corona and the pink and red light from
the hydrogen gas of the chromosphere. Together these make up the sun’s outer
atmosphere. This is totality.
b. Totality only lasts a few minutes, unlike with lunar eclipses, and is only viewable
by less than half a percent of Earth’s surface. The Earth only gets a total solar
eclipse once every 18 months in average
c. Less than 30% of solar eclipses are total eclipses due to the moon having an
elliptical orbit
2) Just as a light-year is the distance light can travel in 1 year, a light-minute is the distance
light can travel in a minute. What is a light-minute in kilometers?
Light travels at 300,000 km/s (from lecture slide 1)
Distance = Speed x Time
