The vernal equinox and the autumnal equinox are associated with two points 180° apart in the Earth’s orbit. That is, the Earth is on precisely opposite sides of the Sun when it passes through these two points. From the vernal equinox. 185.4 days elapse before the autumnal equinox. Only 179.8 days elapse from the autumnal equinox until the next vernal equinox. Why is the interval from the March (vernal) to the September (autumnal) equinox (which contains the summer solstice) longer than the interval from the September to the March equinox rather than being equal to that interval? Choose one of the following reasons, (a) They are really the same, but the Earth spins faster during the “summer” interval, so the days are shorter, (b) Over the “summer” interval, the Earth moves slower because it is farther from the Sun. (c) Over the March-to-September interval, the Earth moves slower because it is closer to the Sun. (d) The Earth has less kinetic energy when it is warmer, (e) The Earth has less orbital
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EBK PHYSICS FOR SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEER
- When Sedna was discovered in 2003, it was the most distant object known to orbit the Sun. Currently, it is moving toward the inner solar system. Its period is 10,500 years. Its perihelion distance is 75 AU. a. What is its semimajor axis in astronomical units? b. What is its aphelion distance?arrow_forwardAccording to Lunar Laser Ranging experiments the average distance L M from the Earth to the Moon is approximately 3.85 × 105 km. The Moon orbits the Earth and completes one revolution in approximately 27.5 days (a sidereal month). Calculate mass of the Eartharrow_forwardMars has an orbital radius of 1.523 AU and an orbital period of 687.0 days. What is its average speed v in SI units? (1 AU is the astronomical unit, the mean distance between the Sun and the Earth, which is 1.496×1011 m) a. 0.00221 AU/day b. 3838 m/s c. 0 d. 1.28×10−9 m/sarrow_forward
- What arc length does the Earth travel in a three month period in its nearly circular orbit about the sun with a radius of 1.5 x 10^(11) m?Required to answer. Single choice.arrow_forwardThe earth takes 365.256 days to go around the sun and 23 hours 56 min and 4.0905 s to revolve about its axis. These give the earth an orbital speed of 29.8 km/s and a rotational speed of 465 m/s at the equator, a 64:1 ratio. If the moon orbits the earth in a period of 29 d 12 h 44 min 2.9 s, has a sidereal period of 27.321582 days, a radius of 1737 km, and a mean distance from the earth of 384,000 km, what is the similar velocity ratio for the moon?arrow_forwardIn the year 8000 (Y8K) the mass of the Earth has increased (due to excessive space mining). As a result, the moon has moved further from the earth (the distance between the earth and the moon in the year 8000 is 4.06×108 mm ) and is now in a circular orbit. A lunar month remains at 29.5 days. Calculate the mass of the earth in the year 8000 (Y8K) M earth = ?kgarrow_forward
- Planet X rotates in the same manner as the earth, around an axis through its north and south poles, and is perfectly spherical. An astronaut who weighs 943.0 NN on the earth weighs 920.0 NN at the north pole of Planet X and only 860.0 NN at its equator. The distance from the north pole to the equator is 18,850 kmkm, measured along the surface of Planet X. How long is the day on Planet X? Express your answer in hours. If a 45,000 kgkg satellite is placed in a circular orbit 3000 kmkm above the surface of Planet X, what will be its orbital period? Express your answer in seconds.arrow_forwardAstronomical observations of our milky way galaxy indicate that it has a mass of about 8x1011 solar masses. A star orbiting near the galaxy's periphery is 5.6x104 light years from its center. a.) What should be the orbital period (in years) of that star be? b.) If its period is 6.4x107 years instead, what is the mass (in solar masses) of the galaxy? Such calculations are used to imply the existence of "dark matter" in the universe and have indicated, for example, the existence of very massive black holes at the center of some galaxies.arrow_forward4. A tracking station determines the following position and velocity vectors of a spacecraft in the geocentric equatorial coordinate frame: R= 10000 I + 0j+ 10000 R km V = 01+ 6.5/ + OR km/s %3D Find the satellite's COES and the flight path angle at that location.arrow_forward
- The Sun’s center is at one focus of Earth’s orbit. How far from this focus is the other focus, (a) in meters and (b) in terms of the solar radius, 6.96 *10^8 m? The eccentricity is 0.0167, and the semimajor axis is 1.50 * 10^11 m.arrow_forwardIn a distant star system there are many inhabitable planets. One of these planets is named Qomar. Qomar is 3.2 AU's from its star and takes 6.5 Earth years to go around its star once. There is another planet in the same star system called Ferenginar. Ferenginar is 0.9 AUs from the star. What is the length of a Ferengi year (on Ferenginar) in terms of Earth years?arrow_forwardAccording to Lunar Laser Ranging experiments the average distance LM from the Earth to theMoon is approximately 3.85 × 105 km. The Moon orbits the Earth and completes one revolutionin approximately 27.5 days (a sidereal month). a) Calculate the orbital velocity of the Moon.b) Calculate mass of the Earth.arrow_forward
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