ESSENTIAL COSMIC PERSPECTIVE PKG
15th Edition
ISBN: 9780133982688
Author: Bennett
Publisher: PEARSON
expand_more
expand_more
format_list_bulleted
Videos
Textbook Question
Chapter 9, Problem 45EAP
Room to Roam. It's estimated that there are a trillion comets in the Oort cloud, which extends out to about 50,000 AU. What is the to1al volume of the Oort cloud, in cubic AU? How much space does each comet have in cubic AU, on average? Take the cube root of the average volume per comet to find the cornets' typical spacing in AU. (Hints: For the purpose of this calculation, you can assume the Oort cloud fills the whole sphere out to 50,000 AU. The volume of a sphere is given by
Expert Solution & Answer
Want to see the full answer?
Check out a sample textbook solution
Students have asked these similar questions
You observe a comet 0.46 AU from Earth with a tail that is 1.7 degrees long. How long is the tail in AU?
How long is the tail in kilometers?
How many times could the U.S. fit along the length of the tail? (The width of the U.S. is 4,313 km.)
A typical comet contains some 1013 kg of water ice. How many comets would have to strike Earth in order to account for the roughly 2×1021 kg of water presently found on our planet? If this amount of water accumulated over a period of 500 million years, how frequently must Earth have been hit by comets during that time?
It is believed there are 2.7 x 1012 comets in the Oort Cloud, which has a radius of 71000.0 AU. Calculate the average volume that each comet has to itself. Then take the cube root of the average volume per comet to find their typical spacing in AU.
Chapter 9 Solutions
ESSENTIAL COSMIC PERSPECTIVE PKG
Ch. 9 - Prob. 1VSCCh. 9 - Prob. 2VSCCh. 9 - Prob. 3VSCCh. 9 - Prob. 4VSCCh. 9 - Prob. 5VSCCh. 9 - Prob. 1EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 3EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 4EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 2EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 5EAP
Ch. 9 - Prob. 6EAPCh. 9 - Describe the Kuiper belt and Oorl cloud in terms...Ch. 9 - Prob. 9EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 10EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 11EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 12EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 13EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 14EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 15EAPCh. 9 - Studies of a large object in the Kuiper belt...Ch. 9 - Prob. 17EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 18EAPCh. 9 - 19. Geologists discover a crater from a...Ch. 9 - Prob. 20EAPCh. 9 - In another solar system, astror1omers discover an...Ch. 9 - Prob. 22EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 23EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 24EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 25EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 26EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 27EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 28EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 29EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 30EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 31EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 32EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 33EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 34EAPCh. 9 - Assessing Impact Danger. Roles: Scribe {collects...Ch. 9 - The Role of Jupiter. Suppose that Jupiter had...Ch. 9 - Prob. 37EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 38EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 39EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 40EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 41EAPCh. 9 - Adding Up Asteroids. It's estimated that there are...Ch. 9 - Prob. 43EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 44EAPCh. 9 - Room to Roam. It's estimated that there are a...Ch. 9 - 46. Comet Dust Accumulat ion. A few hundred tons...Ch. 9 - Prob. 47EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 48EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 49EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 50EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 51EAP
Knowledge Booster
Learn more about
Need a deep-dive on the concept behind this application? Look no further. Learn more about this topic, physics and related others by exploring similar questions and additional content below.Similar questions
- Consider the differentiated meteorites. We think the irons are from the cores, the stony-irons are from the interfaces between mantles and cores, and the stones are from the mantles of their differentiated parent bodies. If these parent bodies were like Earth, what fraction of the meteorites would you expect to consist of irons, stony-irons, and stones? Is this consistent with the observed numbers of each? (Hint: You will need to look up what percent of the volume of Earth is taken up by its core, mantle, and crust.)arrow_forwardIt is believed that there are a 1.2 × 1012 comets in the Oort Cloud, which has a radius of 74000.0 AU. What is the total volume of the Oort Cloud in cubic AU?arrow_forwardWe saw that the Oort cloud extends to 50,000 AU. What is the orbital periodof a comet with a semimajor axis of 50,000 AU?arrow_forward
- It is believed that there are 2.4 x1012 comets in the Oort Cloud, which has a radois of 72000.0 AU. What is the total volume of the Oort Cloud in cubic AU?arrow_forwardThe mass of the asteroids is found mostly in the larger asteroids, so to estimate the total mass we need to consider only the larger objects. Suppose the three largest asteroids-Ceres (1000 km in diameter), Pallas (500 km in diameter), and Vesta (500 km in diameter)-account for half the total mass. Assume that each of these three asteroids has a density of 3 g/cm3 and calculate their total mass. Multiply your result by 2 to obtain an estimate for the mass of the total asteroid belt. How does this compare with the mass of the Oort cloud?arrow_forwardRefer to Example 13.1. How would the calculation change if a typical comet in the Oort cloud is only 1 km in diameter?arrow_forward
- If the velocity of the solar wind is about 4.0 ✕ 102 km/s and the visible tail of a comet is 5.0 ✕ 108 km long, how many days does an atom in the solar wind take to travel from the nucleus to the end of the visible tail? (Note:1 day = 86,400 seconds.)arrow_forwardA typical comet contains some 1013 kg of water ice. How many comets would have to strike Earth in order to account for the roughly 2×1021 kg of water presently found on our planet? (Hint: simple division) If this amount of water accumulated over a period of 500 million years, how frequently must Earth have been hit by comets during that time? (Hint: Calculate, on the average, how many comets hit the Earth per year during that time.)arrow_forwardWhat evidence indicates that a comets nucleus is rich in ices?arrow_forward
- Of all the meteorites shown in Figure 24-2, which one is the most likely meteorite to be found on the ground? Why?arrow_forwardHow do the risks of dying from the impact of an asteroid or comet compare with other risks we are concerned about, such as dying in a car accident or from heart disease or some other natural cause? (Hint: To find the annual risk, go to the library or internet and look up the annual number of deaths from a particular cause in a particular country, and then divide by the population of that country.)arrow_forwardThe calculation in Example 13.1 refers to the known Oort cloud, the source for most of the comets we see. If, as some astronomers suspect, there are 10 times this many cometary objects in the solar system, how does the total mass of cometary matter compare with the mass of Jupiter?arrow_forward
arrow_back_ios
SEE MORE QUESTIONS
arrow_forward_ios
Recommended textbooks for you
Foundations of Astronomy (MindTap Course List)PhysicsISBN:9781337399920Author:Michael A. Seeds, Dana BackmanPublisher:Cengage Learning
AstronomyPhysicsISBN:9781938168284Author:Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. WolffPublisher:OpenStax
Foundations of Astronomy (MindTap Course List)
Physics
ISBN:9781337399920
Author:Michael A. Seeds, Dana Backman
Publisher:Cengage Learning
Astronomy
Physics
ISBN:9781938168284
Author:Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. Wolff
Publisher:OpenStax
Kepler's Three Laws Explained; Author: PhysicsHigh;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyR6EO_RMKE;License: Standard YouTube License, CC-BY