Wednesday, October 12, 2022
Tuesday, October 11, 2022
Kepler's third law
T is the period of the orbit around the Sun in earth years.
a is the semimajor axis in astronomical units, AU
The standard form of Kepler's third law:
T2 = a3
Solution for unknown T
T = a(3/2)
Solution for unknown a
a = T(2/3)
Thursday, October 6, 2022
Semimajor Axis
| Major Planet | Semimajor Axis (AU) |
| Mercury | 0.39 |
| Venus | 0.72 |
| Earth | 1 |
| Mars | 1.52 |
| Jupiter | 5.2 |
| Saturn | 9.54 |
| Uranus | 19.19 |
| Neptune | 30.06 |
| Well-Studied Dwarf Planet | Semimajor Axis (AU) |
| Ceres | 2.77 |
| Pluto | 39.5 |
| Haumea | 43.1 |
| Makemake | 45.8 |
| Eris | 68 |
Physical Data
Physical Data for the Major Planets
| Major Planet | Mean Diameter (km) | Mean Diameter (Earth = 1) | Mass (Earth = 1) | Mean Density (g/cm3) | Rotation Period (d) | Inclination of Equator to Orbit (°) | Surface Gravity (Earth = 1[g]) | Velocity of Escape (km/s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | 4879 | 0.38 | 0.055 | 5.43 | 58. | 0.0 | 0.38 | 4.3 |
| Venus | 12,104 | 0.95 | 0.815 | 5.24 | −243. | 177 | 0.90 | 10.4 |
| Earth | 12,756 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 5.51 | 1.000 | 23.4 | 1.00 | 11.2 |
| Mars | 6779 | 0.53 | 0.11 | 3.93 | 1.026 | 25.2 | 0.38 | 5.0 |
| Jupiter | 140,000 | 10.9 | 318 | 1.33 | 0.414 | 3.1 | 2.53 | 60. |
| Saturn | 117,000 | 9.13 | 95.2 | 0.69 | 0.440 | 26.7 | 1.07 | 36. |
| Uranus | 50,700 | 3.98 | 14.5 | 1.27 | −0.718 | 97.9 | 0.89 | 21. |
| Neptune | 49,200 | 3.86 | 17.2 | 1.64 | 0.671 | 29.6 | 1.14 | 23. |
Table F1
Physical Data for Well-Studied Dwarf Planets
| Well-Studied Dwarf Planet | Diameter (km) | Diameter (Earth = 1) | Mass (Earth = 1) | Mean Density (g/cm3) | Rotation Period (d) | Inclination of Equator to Orbit (°) | Surface Gravity (Earth = 1[g]) | Velocity of Escape (km/s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceres | 950 | 0.07 | 0.0002 | 2.2 | 0.378 | 3 | 0.03 | 0.5 |
| Pluto | 2470 | 0.18 | 0.0024 | 1.9 | −6.387 | 122 | 0.06 | 1.3 |
| Haumea | 1700 | 0.13 | 0.0007 | 3 | 0.163 | — | — | 0.8 |
| Makemake | 1400 | 0.11 | 0.0005 | 2 | 0.321 | — | — | 0.8 |
| Eris | 2326 | 0.18 | 0.0028 | 2.5 | 1.251 | — | — | 1.4 |
Table F2
Orbital Data for the Major Planets
| Major Planet | Semimajor Axis (AU) | Semimajor Axis (106 km) | Sidereal Period (y) | Sidereal Period (d) | Mean Orbital Speed (km/s) | Orbital Eccentricity | Inclination of Orbit to Ecliptic (°) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | 0.39 | 58 | 0.24 | 88.0 | 47.9 | 0.206 | 7.0 |
| Venus | 0.72 | 108 | 0.6 | 224.7 | 35.0 | 0.007 | 3.4 |
| Earth | 1.00 | 149 | 1.00 | 365.2 | 29.8 | 0.017 | 0.0 |
| Mars | 1.52 | 228 | 1.88 | 687.0 | 24.1 | 0.093 | 1.9 |
| Jupiter | 5.20 | 778 | 11.86 | — | 13.1 | 0.048 | 1.3 |
| Saturn | 9.54 | 1427 | 29.46 | — | 9.6 | 0.056 | 2.5 |
| Uranus | 19.19 | 2871 | 84.01 | — | 6.8 | 0.046 | 0.8 |
| Neptune | 30.06 | 4497 | 164.82 | — | 5.4 | 0.010 | 1.8 |
Table F3
Orbital Data for Well-Studied Dwarf Planets
| Well-Studied Dwarf Planet | Semimajor Axis (AU) | Semimajor Axis (106 km) | Sidereal Period (y) | Mean Orbital Speed (km/s) | Orbital Eccentricity | Inclination of Orbit to Ecliptic (°) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceres | 2.77 | 414.0 | 4.6 | 18 | 0.08 | 11 |
| Pluto | 39.5 | 5915 | 248.6 | 4.7 | 0.25 | 17 |
| Haumea | 43.1 | 6452 | 283.3 | 4.5 | 0.19 | 28 |
| Makemake | 45.8 | 6850 | 309.9 | 4.4 | 0.16 | 29 |
| Eris | 68.0 | 10,120 | 560.9 | 3.4 | 0.44 | 44 |
Table F4
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
🌌 Sun
Our sun is the largest and most massive object in the solar system.
It's more than 100 Earths wide and could theoretically fit all eight planets inside nearly 600 times. It also contains approximately 99.8% of all the mass in the solar system.
Because of this mass, the sun has a great pull on the fabric of space, creating a gravitational force that causes nearby planetary bodies to be drawn toward it.
This gravitational pull allows the sun to hold together a system of eight planets, potentially dozens of dwarf planets, at least 170 moons, and countless comets and asteroids.
It's more than 100 Earths wide and could theoretically fit all eight planets inside nearly 600 times. It also contains approximately 99.8% of all the mass in the solar system.
Because of this mass, the sun has a great pull on the fabric of space, creating a gravitational force that causes nearby planetary bodies to be drawn toward it.
This gravitational pull allows the sun to hold together a system of eight planets, potentially dozens of dwarf planets, at least 170 moons, and countless comets and asteroids.
Thursday, September 15, 2022
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