Kepler's Laws
Who did Kepler work with prior to formulating his 3 laws of planetary motion?
Tycho Brahe, in Copenhagen Observatory
English
What is the estimated age of the Sun?
4.5 billion years old
name the order of the planets in terms of their mass? (LARGE to small)
Jupiter
Saturn
Neptune
Uranus
Earth
Venus
Mars
Mercury
What is the area called whereby the Sun's gravity is at its weakest?
Explain Kepler's first law......
Law of Ellipses
Shape of the orbit is an ellipse
Has two foci (centers of gravity) - a circle has 1 focus
Calculating based on semi-major axis and foci distance - eccentricity (measure of elliptical shape 0-1)
Planets orbit in this shape, creating a aphelion and perihelion (distances from the Sun - close and far)
According to Newton's 4th law, what creates gravitational force?
Mass of the object
How was the Sun formed?
Stella nebula (cloud of cosmic dust and materials), collapsed due to mass and gravity to create a central mass (enough to create fusion - over 1 million C)
What are the Jovian planet rings mostly made of?
Small rocky material, ice and dust.
What is the location of the asteroid belt in our solar system?
between Mars and jupiter, unofficial division between the terrestrial and jovian planets.
Explain the 2nd law......
Law of Equal Areas
based on the law of ellipses - the planetary body orbits at different speeds according to position on the orbit (revolution). Perihelion - moves faster, Aphelion - moves slower.
According to the formula for gravitational force created, what does G mean?
Gravitational force CONSTANT, multiplied by the mass of the object - exerted force.
What is the process of energy creation in the Sun's core?
Nuclear Fusion - combining atoms under extreme pressure and high temps (15 million degrees Celsius), combining Hydrogen into Helium and releasing stored atomic energy - gamma radiation, neutrinos, energy.
Why was Pluto declassified in 1995 as a Dwarf Planet?
- Does not dominate the environment
- mass vs moons
- gravitational dominance
- location
- orbital revolution
What is the dwarf planet called which is located near Mars?
Ceres
Explain the 3rd law and how it relates to the second law.....?
3rd law - law of harmonies, planets are a certain distance from the Sun, therefore will orbit at a particular speed (orbital speed - revolution).
relates --- based on eccentricity and location on orbit, based on overall revolution period (time)
What is the distance called between the Sun and Earth?
1 Astronomical Unit (AU) - 93,000,000 miles (million)
Explain the different layers of the sun?
Core - extreme temps and pressure
Radiative zone - energy moving away from the core, pure energy, less pressure to allow movement away
Convective zone - differential heating, cool sink, hot rise towards the surface
Photosphere - light region of the Sun, very thin and transparent - 6000 degrees (cool)
Chromosphere - region of the Sun around the surface which give the color.
Corona - unofficial atmosphere of the Sun, 1.5 million C, extends outside the Sun - great distance.
What year did Galileo investigate Jupiter's larger moons? Name the Galilean moons
1610
Io, Callista, Europa, Ganymede
What is the current theory on the origin of the Kuiper Belt?
The remains of our solar system formation, whereby unused rocky materials and ice are left over from the formation of planets and dwarf planets.
What did the 3rd law (Harmonies) express regarding the regularity of our Solar System?
The distance and orbital period time are extremely closely correlated together, for example the further distance the same ratio of extended revolution the celestial body will have.
How does the Sun represent the 4th law of Newton's gravity perfectly?
The Sun is by far the largest celestial body in our solar system thus has the greatest gravitational force on all other celestial bodies, including the Earth.
What is the nuclear fusion process called inside the core?
proton - proton chain
Which planets have a ring system?
Uranus, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune (all the Jovian planets, ice giants, and gas giants)
What are the moving rocky material which originates from the Kuiper Belt and occasionally travels close to earth's orbit?
Short-period comets