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 15P
The mass of an average comet’s nucleus is about 1.0 × 1014 kg. If the Oort Cloud contains 2.0 × 1011 comet nuclei, what is the mass of the cloud in units of Earth masses? In units of Jupiter’s mass? (Notes: Earth’s mass in kg can be found in its Celestial Profile. Jupiter’s mass in kg can be found in its Celestial Profile.)
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The mass of an average comet's nucleus is about 1.0 x 1014 kg. If the Oort cloud contains 2.0 x 1011 comet nuclei, what is the mass of the cloud in units of Earth masses? (Note: Earth's mass is
5.97 x 1024 kg.)
M.
Compare that with Saturn's mass. (Note: Saturn's mass in units of Earth's mass is 95.2 Ma)
mass of the Oort cloud
mass of Saturn
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The value we have just calculated is the combined masses of Jupiter and Callisto! Their mass is in units of the Sun's Mass (MS) - we can convert this to
units which are more familiar to us like kilograms by multiplying this answer by the scale factor (1.99x1030 kg/1 MS):
(MJupiter + MCallisto) = ( MS) (1.99x1030 kg/1 Solar Mass) =
_______x_10___ kg
(I have already written the x 10 so you are reminded to write the exponenet of 10 in the scientific notation expression of your answer). Since you know from looking at pictures of Jupiter with its Galilean Satellites (look in your book at a picture if you have not already), that Callisto is much smaller than Jupiter - in fact it is less than 0.001 of Jupiter's size or mass, so the number we have just calculated for (MJupiter + MCallisto) is almost the same as MJupiter .
How much more massive is Jupiter than the Earth? (The mass of Earth is about 5.98 x 1024 kg)
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.)
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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- Uranus is about 26,000 km in radius, and its main ring is about 51,000 km from the planets center. If you represent the planet with a ball 5 inches in radius, how far from the center would you place its main ring?arrow_forwardThe mass of an average comets nucleus is about 1.0 x 10^14 kg. If the Oort Cloud contains 20 x 10^11 comet nuclei, what is the mass of the clouds in units of Earth masses? (Note: Earths mass is 5.97 x 10^24 kg) _______ m compare that with Uranus's mass. (Note: Uranus's mass im units of Earth's mass is 14.5m) mass of the Oort Cloud/mass of Uranus:_____arrow_forwardTutorial You observe a comet 0.32 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.) Part 1 of 3 You observe a comet 0.32 AU from Earth with a tail that is 1.7 degrees long. How long is the tail in AU? We use the small angle formula to calculate the length of the tail in AU. arc seconds d Ꮎ 2.06 x 105 D Solving for the linear distance gives: dAU = DAU dAU = = AU arc seconds 2.06 x 105arrow_forward
- The mass of an average comet's nucleus is about 1.0 ✕ 1014 kg. If the Oort cloud contains 2.0 ✕ 1011 comet nuclei, what is the mass of the cloud in units of Earth masses? (Note: Earth's mass is 5.97 ✕ 1024 kg.)________ marrow_forwardAt what average distances (in AU) from the Sun would you expect to find Kirkwood gaps where the orbital period of asteroids are respectively four-ninths, and three-sevenths, of the orbital period of Jupiter? (Hint: use Kepler's third law.) inner gap at_______ AU outer gap at_______ AUarrow_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_forward
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