Extrasolar planet lab

Abeyta - Kinne1 Tearny Abeyta - Kinnevy AST 1110 October 31, 2022 Lab 10: Extrasolar Planet 1. There are eight planets in the Solar System. For each planet, calculate its density relative to the Earth's density (when calculating for each planet, you need to type out the planet name for calculation.  Formula: Density= (mass of planet) / (volume of planet) = mass/volume  Volume of planet = (4/3) x pi x (radius of planet)^3 = (4/3)( pi) (r^3)  Volume of Mercury: (4/3)(3.14) (0.382^3)= .233377226  Volume of Venus: (4/3)(3.14) (0.949^3)= 3.578219861  Volume of Earth: (4/3)(3.14) (1.00^3)= 4.186666667  Volume of Mars: (4/3)(3.14) (0.53^3)= .6232983733  Volume of Jupiter: (4/3)(3.14) (11.2^3)= 5881.965227  Volume of Saturn: (4/3)(3.14) (9.41^3)= 3488.488173  Volume of Uranus: (4/3)(3.14) (3.98^3)= 263.9475292  Volume of Neptune: (4/3)(3.14) (3.81^3)= 231.5492143 ▫ Density of Mercury = 0.06/.233377226= .2570944947 ▫ Density of Venus = 0.82/3.578219861=.2291642302 ▫ Density of Earth = 1.00/4.186666667=.2388535032 ▫ Density of Mars = 0.11/.6232983733=.1764804863 ▫ Density of Jupiter = 318/5881.965227=.0540635634 ▫ Density of Saturn = 95/3488.488173=.0272324271 ▫ Density of Uranus = 14.6/263.9475292=.0553140241

Abeyta – Kinnevy 2 ▫ Density of Neptune = 17.2/231.5492143=.0742822646 2. Data for Eight Planets in the Solar System Planet Distance from the Sun (in AU) Mass (Earth Masses) Radius (Earth Radii) Density relative to Earth Mercury 0.387 0.06 0.382 .98 Venus 0.72 0.82 0.949 0.82/3.57821986 1=.2291642302 Earth 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00/4.18666666 7=.2388535032 Mars 1.52 0.11 0.53 0.11/.623298373 3=.1764804863 Jupiter 5.20 318 11.2 318/5881.96522 7=.0540635634 Saturn 9.54 95 9.41 95/3488.488173 =.0272324271 Uranus 19.22 14.6 3.98 14.6/263.947529 2=.0553140241 Neptune 30.06 17.2 3.81 17.2/231.549214 3=.0742822646 3. There are two types of planets in the solar system, terrestrial planets (like the Earth) and gas giants (like Jupiter). a) How do the mass, radius, and densities of these planetary types differ? i. Comparing the terrestrial planets to the jovian planets—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune—reveals that Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are all smaller in both mass and radius. Even though the terrestrial planets are denser than the Jovian planets, they are smaller in terms of mass and radius. b) How do the distances from the Sun differ for terrestrial and Jovian planets? ii. The Jovian planets are farther away from the sun, while the terrestrial planets are closest to it.

Abeyta – Kinnevy 3 4. Let's say you discover a planet that's 50 times the mass of the Earth. a) Even without visiting the planet, what might you presume about the planet (what will its general characteristics be)? i. Based on the structure of our solar system and comparison of the properties of the terrestrial planets to those of the Jovian planets, I believe that if we discovered a planet that is 50 times larger than Earth, it would be less dense than Earth and predominantly made of cooler gaseous components. Additionally, since the discovery would be less dense, it would most likely be farther from the sun and have a temperature that is always in the negatives. 5. Go to the Web site for the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopedia . Click on the tab “All Catalogs”. a) How many planets have been discovered to date? How many planetary systems? How many multiple planet systems? i. Out of the billions of exoplanets in our galaxy alone, more than 5,000 have been found and are deemed "confirmed," according to NASA. There are countless other "candidate" exoplanet detections that need to be observed in order to confirm the exoplanet's reality. ii. However, the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopedia catalog indicates that there are 839 multiple-planet systems and 5204 planets, as well as 3841 planetary systems. 6. From the pull-down menus select: Status = Confirmed, Detection = Radial Velocity, click on the Filter button. Notice that planet mass is given in “Jupiter masses”, thus, if you

Abeyta – Kinnevy 4 were to see a number of 0.5 then that would be half the mass of Jupiter. For example a 0.3 would be a Saturn-sized planet, 0.04 Uranus-sized, and an Earth sized planet would be 0.0031 Jupiter masses. Look through many of the discoveries. a) What are the characteristics we can determine about an exoplanet from the Radial Velocity technique? i. A star does not remain perfectly stationary when a planet is orbiting it, which is the basis for the radial-velocity method for finding exoplanets. As a result of the smaller companion's gravitational pull, the star moves very little in a small circle or ellipse. The pace at which the distance between an object and a given location changes is called the radial velocity of the object. In other words, the radial velocity is the portion of the item's velocity that is directed in the direction of the radius separating the object from the point. Meaning that through this technique we can calculate the period (day/night cycle) and Au. b) Are these planets similar in mass or are they all very different? i. As said above, this would lead to these planets ranging in a variety of different masses. All would be uniquely different. 7. From the pull-down menus select: Status = Confirmed, Detection =Primary and Secondary Transit, click on the Filter button. a) What are the characteristics we can determine about an exoplanet from the Transit technique? i. Using this technique, the mass for each exoplanet is even closer and more information is provided.