Rocks from Other Solar Systems. Many “leftovers” from planetary formation were likely ejected from our solar system, and the same has presumably happened in other star systems. Given that fact, should we expect to find meteorites, or even entire planets, that come from other star systems? How rare or common would you expect them to be? (Be sure to consider the distances between stars.) Suppose that we did find a meteorite identified as a leftover from another stellar system. What could we learn from it?
Want to see the full answer?
Check out a sample textbook solutionChapter 3 Solutions
Life in the Universe Plus Mastering Astronomy with Pearson eText -- Access Card Package (4th Edition) (Bennett Science & Math Titles)
Additional Science Textbook Solutions
Conceptual Physics (12th Edition)
Essential University Physics (3rd Edition)
Conceptual Physical Science (6th Edition)
Applied Physics (11th Edition)
Modern Physics
An Introduction to Thermal Physics
- If you could visit another planetary system while the planets are forming, would you expect to see the condensation sequence at work, or do you think that process was most likely unique to our Solar System? How do the properties of the extrasolar planets discovered so far affect your answer?arrow_forwardA 1.43MSun main sequence star is found to have a planet in its habitable zone. What is the expected lifetime (in years) of the star? (Assume that the expected lifetime of the Sun is 11 ✕ 109 years. Round your answer to at least three significant figures.) Using the figure above, if Earth orbited this star, how far along the timeline would it get?arrow_forwardconsider plutos diameter and mass. (2374)km & (1.303E22kg) and day which is 6.4 dayz long. FIND: 1. please elaborate how would you get the answer to the escappe vel0city from plut0. 2. we would need to find the minimum energy required for an aircraft or ship of some sort with mass (525kg) to escape this planet.. 3. we would also need to find the t0tal energy for a complete orbit around the planet with an airship with a same mass (525) and an altitude of 224 kmarrow_forward
- consider plutoz diameter and mass. (2374)km & (1.303E22kg) and day which js 6.4 dayz long. FIND: 1. please elaborate how would you get the answer to the escappe vel0city from plut0. 2. we would need to find the minimum energy required for an aircraft or ship of some sort with mass (525kg) to escape this planet.. 3. we would also need to find the t0tal energy for a complete orbit around the planet with an airship with a same mass (525) and an altitude of 224 kmarrow_forwardDefine the escape velocity and discuss the factors upon which it depends. Is it same or different for all planets in the Universe? Explain the reasonarrow_forwardIn Table 2, there is a list of 15 planets, some of which are real objects discovered by the Kepler space telescope, and some are hypothetical planets. For each one, you are provided the temperature of the star that each planet orbits in degrees Kelvin (K), the distance that each planet orbits from their star in astronomical units (AUs) and the size or radius of each planet in Earth radii (RE). Since we are concerned with finding Earth-like planets, we will assume that the composition of these planets are similar to Earth's, so we will not directly look at their masses, rather their sizes (radii) along with the other characteristics. Determine which of these 15 planets meets our criteria of a planet that could possibly support Earth-like life. Use the Habitable Planet Classification Flow Chart (below) to complete Table 2. Whenever the individual value you are looking at falls within the range of values specified on the flow chart, mark the cell to the right of the value with a Y for…arrow_forward
- What fractional decrease in flux, δF/F, would be caused by an Earth-like planet transiting a Sun-like star? If a transit of the Earth across the Sun were viewed by a very distant observer in the Earth’s orbital plane, how long would the transit last?[Hint:You will need the orbital velocity of the Earth,vorb= 30km s−1.]arrow_forwardImagine a trans-Neptunian object with roughly the same mass as Earth but located 50 AU from the sun. a) based on the solar nebula theory, what do you think this object would be made of and why? b) on the basis of speculation, assume a reasonable density for this object and calculate its diameter in units of Earth radii.arrow_forwardWhat is a biomarker? Give some possible examples of biomarkers we might look for beyond the solar system.arrow_forward
- In the Star Wars movie Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, a key battle takes place on the inhabited “forest moon” Endor, which supposedly orbits around a gas giant planet. From what you have learned about planets and moons of the solar system, why would this be an unusual situation?arrow_forwardExoplanets in eccentric orbits experience large temperature swings during their orbits. Suppose you had to plan for a mission to such a planet. Based on Kepler’s second law, does the planet spend more time closer or farther from the star? Explain.arrow_forwardWhen astronomers found the first giant planets with orbits of only a few days, they did not know whether those planets were gaseous and liquid like Jupiter or rocky like Mercury. The observations of HD 209458 settled this question because observations of the transit of the star by this planet made it possible to determine the radius of the planet. Use the data given in the text to estimate the density of this planet, and then use that information to explain why it must be a gas giant.arrow_forward
- Horizons: Exploring the Universe (MindTap Course ...PhysicsISBN:9781305960961Author:Michael A. Seeds, Dana BackmanPublisher:Cengage LearningAstronomyPhysicsISBN:9781938168284Author:Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. WolffPublisher:OpenStax
- Foundations of Astronomy (MindTap Course List)PhysicsISBN:9781337399920Author:Michael A. Seeds, Dana BackmanPublisher:Cengage Learning