Tagged Questions
-1
votes
1answer
62 views
Earth and Moon computer simulation [closed]
So I want to simulate the solar system but want to start simple with one orbiting body.
However, I never did anything like this before and was wondering if anyone here could give me some hints.
...
1
vote
0answers
32 views
Mercury's Orbital Precession in Special Relativity
I am researching Mercury's orbital precession. I have considered most perturbations and general relativity. I am still not satisfied. I need your help.
I need a solution to Exercise 13, Chapter 6, in ...
0
votes
1answer
83 views
Has anyone on Earth ever seen the dark side of the moon and if so where are the pictures? [duplicate]
If the Moon rotates then we should see the dark side right? But as far as I know the Moon only shows one side to Earth, how can this be if it is rotating?
0
votes
2answers
139 views
Planet's Moon attrated by sun [closed]
I'm currently writing a code to generate solar system and $N$ number of planets / moons.
I use real data to test (earth / sun / moon data).
I succeeded in placing the earth and make it orbit around ...
1
vote
1answer
170 views
Result of increasing the radius of earth?
How can increasing the radius of earth may cause an impact on the solar system ? Like, would earth may start making a bigger orbit (due to increase in size and wait) or vice versa ? or else ?
PS: The ...
5
votes
2answers
200 views
Why is there this asymmetry between the two foci of an orbital ellipse?
Why does the Earth revolve with the Sun at one of its foci? Does the other focus do nothing? Why is there this asymmetry in our solar system?
0
votes
2answers
81 views
On constancy of cometary orbits
how are the comets able to keep to a nearly fixed orbital period, though they lose a certain amount of mass during their perihelion?
18
votes
3answers
594 views
Why do the planets' orbital distances fall on an exponential curve?
Background: I was recently reading a book on the planets to my son and I noticed a pattern in the distributions of the planets. The planets' distances roughly follow an exponential distribution.
...
6
votes
3answers
170 views
“Reverse engineering” of a horoscope?
I'll start with a disclaimer -- this is not a question about astrology itself, I'm neither trying to refute nor to defend astrology. I'm interested in purely technical things, which are mostly ...
6
votes
7answers
1k views
How does the earth move?
My son who is 5 years old is asking me a question about how the earth moves around the sun. What answer should I give him?
0
votes
1answer
162 views
What are the known relationships between rotation of planets/moons and their distance to Sun?
What are the known relationships between rotation of planets/moons and their distance to Sun? Or any other known attributes? For example, the sidereal year for planets is directly related to their ...
13
votes
5answers
2k views
Why do we always see the same side of the Moon?
I am puzzled why we always see the same side of the Moon even though it is rotating around its own axis apart from revolving around the earth. Shouldn't this only be possible if the Moon is not ...
28
votes
1answer
443 views
Why are our planets in the solar system all on the same disc/plane/layer?
I always see pictures of the solar system where our sun is in the middle and the planets surround the sun. All these planets move on orbits on the same layer. Why?
6
votes
3answers
1k views
What is the irregularity in Uranus' orbit that is caused by Neptune?
I carefully read the Wikipedia article Discovery of Neptune, and I don't get what the irregularity of Uranus orbit was that lead to the discovery of Neptune. Years ago, I watched some educational film ...
5
votes
3answers
63 views
Are orbits interior to Jupiter's orbit less stable than orbits exterior to Jupiter's orbit?
Or in other words, are there differences in average Lyapunov timescale between orbits interior to Jupiter and orbits exterior to Jupiter? I'm trying to answer a question at ...
12
votes
2answers
1k views
What did general relativity clarify about Mercury?
I frequently hear that Kepler, using his equations of orbital motion, could predict the orbits of all the planets to a high degree of accuracy -- except Mercury. I've heard that mercury's motion ...
5
votes
11answers
2k views
Why do we say that the earth moves around the sun?
In history we are taught that the Catholic Church was wrong, because the Sun does not move around the Earth, instead the Earth moves around the Sun.
But then in physics we learn that movement is ...
3
votes
3answers
346 views
Why all rocks are not orbiting bigger rocks in space?
Why only big rocks (planets) have satellites and not small ones? Why cosmic dust doesn't orbit rocks that are many times heavier than the dust grains? If dust is still too heavy then what about ...
8
votes
3answers
488 views
Questions about the Solar System
Most images you see of the solar system are 2D and all planets orbit in the same plane. In a 3D view, are really all planets orbiting in similar planes? Is there a reason for this? I'd expect that ...
11
votes
3answers
2k views
Why are Saturn's rings so thin?
Take a look at this picture (from APOD http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110308.html):
I presume that rocks within rings smash each other. Below the picture there is a note which says that Saturn's rings ...
10
votes
6answers
2k views
Why are the orbits of planets in the Solar System nearly circular?
Except for Mercury, the planets in the Solar System have very small eccentricities.
Is this property special to the Solar System? Wikipedia states:
Most exoplanets with orbital periods of 20 ...
