Suppose a scientist holds a press conference at which he claims that 10% of the matter in the Milky Way is in the form of dust grains. Does his claim seem reasonable? Why or why not?
A. It is reasonable, because we already know that interstellar dust obscures our view through the disk of the galaxy.
B. The 10% figure is too low, because most of the mass of the galaxy is in the form of interstellar dust.
C. The 10% figure is too high because there are not enough heavy elements to make that much dust.
D. It seems reasonable as long as we assume that red giant stars—which produce dust grains in their stellar winds—are more common than we thought.
Answer:C
Suppose a scientist holds a press conference at which he claims that 10% of the matter in the Milky Way is in the form of dust grains. Does his claim seem reasonable? Why or why not?
A. It is reasonable, because we already know that interstellar dust obscures our view through the disk of the galaxy. B. The 10% figure is too low, because most of the mass of the galaxy is in the form of interstellar dust. C. The 10% figure is too high because there are not enough heavy elements to make that much dust. D. It seems reasonable as long as we assume that red giant stars—which produce dust grains in their stellar winds—are more common than we thought.