Understanding Our Universe
3rd Edition
ISBN: 9780393614428
Author: PALEN, Stacy, Kay, Laura, Blumenthal, George (george Ray)
Publisher: W.w. Norton & Company,
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Chapter 9, Problem 17QAP
To determine
The direction of ion tails of comet.
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The Tunguska asteroid is estimated to have had a diameter of 50 m, and to have produced an explosion equivalent to 10 megatons of TNT (1 megaton = 4.2 x 1015 joules). Assume that the asteroid was a sphere with density 2 g/cm3. Using the kinetic energy formula K = ½ mv2, where m is the mass and v is the speed, to estimate the speed of the asteroid. Assume that all kinetic energy is converted into the energy of the explosion.
Give your answer in km/s with one significant figure.
A comet with a 2 km diameter will make a crater about 20 km in diameter. If the comet has a mass of 5.4 × 1012 kg and impacts the surface at 35 km/sec, what is the kinetic energy of the comet in Joules?
d) The internal density of the comet 67P was measured by the Rosetta space-craft to be
approximately p = 400 kg m-³. How close an approach to the Earth could be made by
this comet before it is tidally disrupted? Express your answer in units of the Earth's radius.
Ignoring the effects of heating and sublimation, state how close this comet could approach
the Sun without being tidally disrupted. Express your answer in units of the Solar radius.
Chapter 9 Solutions
Understanding Our Universe
Ch. 9.1 - Prob. 9.1CYUCh. 9.2 - Prob. 9.2CYUCh. 9.3 - Prob. 9.3CYUCh. 9.4 - Prob. 9.4CYUCh. 9.5 - Prob. 9.5CYUCh. 9.6 - Prob. 9.6CYUCh. 9 - Prob. 1QAPCh. 9 - Prob. 2QAPCh. 9 - Prob. 3QAPCh. 9 - Prob. 4QAP
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- You are a planetary scientist studying the atmosphere of Jupiter through a large telescope when you observe an asteroid approaching the planet. This asteroid is large, so you know it is held together by gravity rather than the cohesive forces that hold a large rock together. If the asteroid gets too close to Jupiter, the massive tidal forces will tear it apart, scattering small particles that will add to the ring system. You have calculated the closest distance the asteroid will come to Jupiter. How do you know if the asteroid will survive? a. A measure of the cohesive gravitational force holding such an asteroid together is the gravitational field on the surface due to the mass of the asteroid. This field is independent of the distance of the asteroid from Jupiter. Calculate the gravitational field at the surface of the asteroid due only to the mass of the asteroid. Assume the asteroid has a diameter of 10,000 km and a density of 1300 kg/m3. b. Tidal forces from Jupiter tend to disrupt the asteroid by pulling it apart. The tidal forces depend on the distance between Jupiter and the asteroid. There is a distance between Jupiter and the asteroid known as the Roche limit where the tidal forces are balanced by the asteroids own cohesive gravitational force. If the asteroid is within the Roche limit, it will be torn apart. Figure P7.60 shows Jupiters gravitational field as a function of distance from its center. By looking at this graph, can you determine an approximate value for the Roche limit for this asteroid in the vicinity of this planet? c. What will happen to the Roche limit if we consider an asteroid of lower density? FIGURE P7.60arrow_forwardGM What is the orbital velocity and period of a ring particle at the outer edge of Saturn's A ring? (Note: The radius of the edge of the A ring is 136,500 km. Hint: Use the formula for orbital velocity, V. = v orbital velocity km/s period hrarrow_forwardA comet has a period of 75.3 years and moves in an elliptical orbit in which its perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) is 0.700 AU. Find the semimajor axis of the comet and an estimate of the comet's maximum distance from the Sun, both in astronomical units. HINT (a) the semimajor axis of the comet (in AU) AU (b) an estimate of the comet's maximum distance (in AU) from the Sun AUarrow_forward
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