Foundations of Astronomy (MindTap Course List)
14th Edition
ISBN: 9781337399920
Author: Michael A. Seeds, Dana Backman
Publisher: Cengage Learning
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Textbook Question
Chapter 24, Problem 11P
If the velocity of the solar wind is about 4.0 × 102 km/s and the visible tail of a comet is 1.0 × 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? (Nate: 1 day = 86,400 seconds.)
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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.)
This is a challenging problem. Solve it on paper, writing out each step carefully. When doing calculations, do not round intermediate values.
Note: If you have approached the problem in a principled way, do not abandon your approach if your numerical answer is not accepted; check
your calculations!
This problem is closely related to the spectacular impact of the comet Shoemaker-Levy with Jupiter in July 1994. (More information
about the event can be found here.)
A rock far outside a solar system similar to ours is initially moving very slowly relative to its sun, in the plane of the orbit of a large
planet (about the size of Jupiter) around its sun. The rock falls toward the sun, but on its way to the sun it collides with the planet. The
mass of the planet is 4 x 1027 kg, the mass of its sun is 3.2 x 1030 kg, the radius of the planet is 1.4 x 10® m, and the center-to-center
distance from the planet to the sun is 9.2 x 1011 m.
Part 1
(a) Calculate the rock's speed just before it…
If the velocity of the Solar Wind about 4.0 x 10^2 km/s and the visible tail of a comet of 9.0 x 10^8 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 sec)
_______ days
Chapter 24 Solutions
Foundations of Astronomy (MindTap Course List)
Ch. 24 - What is the difference between a meteoroid and an...Ch. 24 - What do Widmansttten patterns indicate about the...Ch. 24 - Why is it possible to acquire Moon rocks by...Ch. 24 - Prob. 4RQCh. 24 - Prob. 5RQCh. 24 - Prob. 6RQCh. 24 - Why do astronomers refer to carbonaceous...Ch. 24 - Prob. 8RQCh. 24 - Prob. 9RQCh. 24 - Of all the meteorites shown in Figure 24-2, which...
Ch. 24 - Meteorites were once part of which type of...Ch. 24 - Most sporadic meteors were once part of which...Ch. 24 - Meteors in showers were once part of which type of...Ch. 24 - Prob. 14RQCh. 24 - Prob. 15RQCh. 24 - Why do astronomers conclude that asteroids were...Ch. 24 - A fragment from the surface of a differentiated...Ch. 24 - What evidence indicates that the asteroids are...Ch. 24 - Prob. 19RQCh. 24 - Prob. 20RQCh. 24 - What evidence indicates that some asteroids once...Ch. 24 - How is the composition of meteorites related to...Ch. 24 - Prob. 23RQCh. 24 - Prob. 24RQCh. 24 - What is the difference between a centaur and a...Ch. 24 - What is the difference between a comets dust tail...Ch. 24 - What evidence indicates that a comets nucleus is...Ch. 24 - Why do most short-period comets have prograde...Ch. 24 - What are possible fates (or end-states) for...Ch. 24 - What are the hypotheses for how the bodies in the...Ch. 24 - Prob. 31RQCh. 24 - How would studying the chemical composition of...Ch. 24 - Assuming a night lasts 12 hours, how many total...Ch. 24 - Prob. 2PCh. 24 - If a single asteroid 1 km in diameter were to...Ch. 24 - If a trillion (1012) asteroids, each 1 km in...Ch. 24 - Prob. 5PCh. 24 - The asteroid Vesta has a mass of 2.6 1020 kg and...Ch. 24 - Prob. 7PCh. 24 - What is the maximum angular diameter of the dwarf...Ch. 24 - At what average distances from the Sun would you...Ch. 24 - Prob. 10PCh. 24 - If the velocity of the solar wind is about 4.0 ...Ch. 24 - What is the average distance of Comet Halley from...Ch. 24 - If you saw Comet Halley when the comet was 0.7 AU...Ch. 24 - What is the orbital period of a comet nucleus at...Ch. 24 - The mass of an average comets nucleus is about 1.0...Ch. 24 - Prob. 16PCh. 24 - Prob. 1SOPCh. 24 - Earth orbits 1 AU from the Sun, and the Oort cloud...Ch. 24 - Look at Figure 24-2d. Identify the chondrules by...Ch. 24 - Prob. 2LTLCh. 24 - Prob. 3LTLCh. 24 - Look at the images of Comet Mrkos on the left page...Ch. 24 - Prob. 5LTLCh. 24 - Prob. 6LTLCh. 24 - Prob. 7LTL
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