Questions tagged [solar-system]
The Sun plus the collection of bodies in orbit around the Sun such as planets, dwarf planets, moons, asteroids, comets, etc.
677
questions
4
votes
2
answers
227
views
How do we know when the earth completes an orbit?
Two bodies in space always orbit their center of mass. So the relative motion of the Sun and the Earth happen in the same line, save for the rotation of the Sun. So, how do we measure
The time taken ...
3
votes
1
answer
35
views
How much of the current Solar System's properties is determined by the initial macroscopic state?
Quoting Wikipedia:
The nebular hypothesis says that the Solar System formed from the gravitational collapse of a fragment of a giant molecular cloud.
The question is: how much of the current form of ...
- 3,299
2
votes
3
answers
118
views
How much energy is required to remove Earth from it's orbit and exit the solar system under perfect conditions?
Ok, this is my first question on this site. But it's one I've been thinking about for a while.
Say through whatever means, we place a device capable of generating thrust/ kinetic energy on the surface ...
5
votes
2
answers
1k
views
What is the Metric of the Gravitational Field of the Sun?
What metric determines the "geometry" of the gravitational field generated by the mass of the sun? Is there a general metric that incorporates arbitrary mass and devolves into the ...
- 51
5
votes
4
answers
410
views
Escape velocity when Sun is present
When we calculate escape velocity for an object from earth, what we do is, we conserve energy. So if $v$ is the escape velocity, we write
$$-\frac{GM_em}{R_e}+\frac{1}{2}mv^2=0$$ since we are assuming ...
- 265
16
votes
6
answers
4k
views
If another planet was opposite Earth, would we be able to observe it?
Imagine another Earth-sized planet, in the exact same orbit as Earth, but 180 degrees out-of-phase. In this arrangement, at all times, you would be able to draw a single straight line through space ...
- 331
3
votes
3
answers
112
views
Why do the planets tend to spin in the same direction as they orbit the center sun?
I mean, why do the spin angular momentum and the orbit angular momentum of a planet tend to have the same direction?
As we all know, a planetesimal $m$ orbiting a sun with mass $M_{sun}$ at $r$ will ...
- 309
0
votes
1
answer
80
views
Can time in space be years faster than on Earth? [closed]
Is it possible that in some distant solar system from another galaxy, time will be dramatically different from our Earth time, with years passing far faster than on Earth time?
0
votes
1
answer
86
views
Why does the Earth move away from the Sun?
From the (Wikipedia's) definition of the astronomical unit $AU$, we have that it is defined as:
$AU=\sqrt[3]{\dfrac{GMD^2}{k^2}}$
Where $k\approx0.01720209895$ is Gauss' gravitational constant, $G$ is ...
- 503
6
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Does the Earth experience air resistance?
Consider the earth body excluding the atmosphere, undergoing circular motion around the sun. Does it experience air resistance due to the atmosphere?
- 155
-1
votes
1
answer
53
views
Does the angular velocity of the sun around its axis affect gravity?
Lets say I am in a circular orbit around the sun. From the suns perspective, Im 'rolling' circles in its gravitational well.
But from my perspective I'm just being stationary. Spacetime is flat for me ...
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
24
views
When the new moon will become visible - after how many hours of conjunction
The moon will be totally invisible during Conjunction of moon, sun and earth.
After how many hours of conjunction, moon will be visible from earth.
-7
votes
1
answer
315
views
Falsifiability of a hypothesis related to a gravitational geon at the edge of Solar System that I postulate [closed]
This post is a version of a post with identificator Meta PSE 12909 that I've asked in recent past years on Meta Physics Stack Exchange Asking if the following post could be suitable for the main site ...
0
votes
0
answers
27
views
Paper about solar wind model
I am searching for a paper about the solar wind. In particular, I need a model (or real data) that describes plasma density as a function of time and location in space. Do such data exist in the ...
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
76
views
How to calculate Earth's speed due to moon induced orbit? [closed]
In https://stackoverflow.com/q/75297814/
the answer for the problem was that the earth like the moon had a speed due to the moon induced orbit. I don't understand how this was calculated? I have ...
- 1
3
votes
2
answers
229
views
Does the Sun or Moon affect weight measurements on Earth?
The gravitational acceleration due to the Earth at its surface, $g_E$, is
$$g_E = 9.8\hbox{ m/s${^2}$}.$$
The gravitational acceleration due to the Sun at the Earth's position is
$$g_S = 5.9 \times 10^...
- 5,507
1
vote
0
answers
36
views
How to calculate the distance of Mercury's perihelion shift in meters? [closed]
Since the shift in mercury's perihelion shift is 2.88E-5 degrees and mercury's altitude above the Sun at its perihelion is 46001200000 meters, can I use the formula for an isosceles triangle to ...
- 83
0
votes
0
answers
34
views
The form used when calculating relative angular velocity
When calculating relative angular velocity, there are two forms.
$\omega_{ab}=\omega_a - \omega_b$
Some textbooks use the relative angular velocity as shown above to guide the synodic period
$\...
- 327
2
votes
2
answers
51
views
Is a planetary collision cascade possible?
It would seem to go against common sense that it would be possible for a small rocket to destroy a solar system, but do the laws of physics actually forbid it? Suppose a rocket were to hit an ...
- 744
-5
votes
2
answers
196
views
Why is mercury the closest planet to the Sun? [closed]
I just want a solid reasoning that why Mercury is the first planet away from the Sun, then Venus, then Earth, then Mars and so on.
1
vote
0
answers
50
views
Moon, Earth and the Sun [closed]
How to prove that the geometric locus of the points where the attractive forces of the Sun and the Moon are of equal intensity is a sphere of radius $ r = \frac{R \sqrt{Mm}}{M-m } $, where $M$ is ...
4
votes
2
answers
642
views
Calculating mass of object by its orbit
Can you calculate the mass of an object by its own orbit around another object? I found many ways to calculate the mass of an object by measuring the trajectories of other objects orbiting it, but ...
- 141
1
vote
0
answers
56
views
High school thesis project about Jupiter's moon Europa [closed]
So basically, I have to write a thesis paper because I'm in the last year of high school. It is an independent research project and the culminating work of my studies in school, so it represents my ...
- 71
1
vote
1
answer
40
views
How do the atoms and electrons move around space when the solar core presses them into a dense plasma? [closed]
It takes a lot of intelligence to compute the center of the sun. As far as I imagine, it's compressed by the hand of gravity and high energy fusion radiation wants to escape one way or the other. ...
- 1,469
0
votes
1
answer
109
views
How do the planets stay in their orbit? [duplicate]
The Sun has a strong gravity. The planets also have gravity. So they attract each other. But then why dont they go and mix up with the Sun?
If it is the orbit of the planets or a pre-existing motion ...
- 7
3
votes
1
answer
187
views
How much does the moon change in diameter as the gravity of the planets and sun act on it?
What is the maximum distortion of the moon? Is it measured in centimetres or metres or kilometres?
user353451
1
vote
1
answer
99
views
Can a planetary system orbit two black holes instead of one sun?
A comic book depicts an exoplanetary system in another galaxy that orbits two black holes instead of a sun. Or it was a life-bearing exoplanet that was in proximity of two black holes as if they were ...
- 131
1
vote
1
answer
63
views
Why are planetary orbits stable given accumulation of forces due to solar wind?
The solar system is more than 4 billion years old. Ever present solar winds which emanates from the sun consists of photons, hydrogen and helium. The momentum transfer from photons upon contact with ...
- 565
-2
votes
3
answers
197
views
Why doesn't the curvature of spacetime around Earth cancel the Sun's curvature?
If the Sun and Earth both act on the same medium, which is spacetime, then why the Earth curvature of spacetime around itself does not isolate it from the Sun's curvature? If it does not, and the Sun ...
user348262
1
vote
2
answers
78
views
How do we know orbits go in an elliptic shape?
I never really understood how we found out the orbits our planets follow are elliptical and not in a circle.
- 111
0
votes
1
answer
78
views
How much energy does a star absorb from gravitational waves as it orbits a black hole?
suppose: a star could orbit a black hole in its own solar system. So I wonder how much gravitational wave energy it absorbs from that black hole and does its mass increase as it absorbs gravitational ...
- 83
0
votes
2
answers
118
views
Can we see our solar system in the past from earth?
Since our solar system is moving through the milky way galaxy, if we point our telescope to a certain point where we determine that the solar system was a certain time ago, will we see our solar ...
- 119
-4
votes
1
answer
63
views
Could NASA and Physisist use the Parker Space Probe to prove Einstein's theory that time slows down the faster one goes outside particle colliders? [closed]
Einstein's theory has already been proven, but only in particle colliders. But the Parker Space Probe at closest approach is approximated to reach speeds of about 430,000 mph or (~0.064% the speed of ...
21
votes
10
answers
2k
views
If reference frames are equally valid, then why do teachers say the geocentric view is wrong? [duplicate]
If all reference frames are valid, then why is the geocentric model taught as "wrong" in schools?
I've checked many websites but none of them clear the issue. Wiki says that in relativity, ...
- 737
0
votes
1
answer
45
views
Angular Velocity of Astronomical Bodies If Earth Was the Center of the Universe
I'm working on a simulation of the solar system. The simulation doesn't need to be physically accurate. It only needs to look right from the viewpoint of a simulated observatory at an arbitrary point ...
-2
votes
2
answers
63
views
Filling the empty bottle with hot air
If I were to fill the empty empty bottle with hot air, how can it be done? If I leave the bottle out in the sunny weather, will the bottle fill with hot air?
When I am filling the empty bottle with ...
2
votes
1
answer
170
views
Delta v of a trans-Mars injection (TMI)
Why does it only take about 600 m/s more than Earth's escape velocity to have an encounter with Mars while it takes much more Delta v (about 3 km/s) from a solar orbit (same as Earth orbit) to have an ...
3
votes
1
answer
759
views
How can we send radar to Venus and reflect it back on earth?
Question
How is it possible to send laser light to Venus and reflect it back on earth? I believe there is no artificial reflection material e.g. mirror on Venus.
Background
Veritasium How One ...
- 169
13
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Is it possible for a moon to have the same orbital period as its planet?
Is it possible for a planet to take just as long to orbit its star as a moon takes to orbit the planet? If we assume circular orbits, then
$\text{orbital period}\sim \sqrt{\frac{\text{radius}^{3}}{\...
- 233
2
votes
1
answer
341
views
Can we compute/simulate why the solar system has a very small number of planets?
I saw a YouTube video saying that Earth was formed in the solar system which was initially a rotating disk of dust that kept colliding and forming larger and larger blocks.
What surprises me is that:
...
- 319
9
votes
5
answers
1k
views
Do solar flares move the dust on the surface of the Moon?
The TV show For All Mankind has a reputation for scientific accuracy, so I think it's fair game to ask if it lives up to this reputation.
In this video clip, we see the dust on the surface of the Moon ...
- 528
0
votes
1
answer
57
views
Why most of the things in this universe wants to become Sphere? [duplicate]
in our solar system , every planets revolve in elliptical path and their shapes is almost oval or approaches to Sphere .
Sun is also looks like Sphere .
Question: Why everything trying to approaches ...
user328832
11
votes
6
answers
5k
views
How could Tycho Brahe determine positions without accurate clocks?
Tycho Brahe determined the positions of stars and planets to an accuracy of 2 minutes of angle. Pendulum clocks hadn't been invented yet so he couldn't have known the time to better than 15 minutes. ...
- 155
1
vote
0
answers
42
views
Does the Lagrange Point $L_3$ exist in practice in the multi-body solar system?
Lagrange Points ($L_1$ through $L_5$) in a restricted 3-body system are well documented. Traditionally body 1 (M1) is the central object with a mass much greater than the other two objects. M2 is ...
- 111
1
vote
2
answers
122
views
Does the Milky Way have any impact on Earth?
Does which galaxy we are in (Milky Way) have any impact on Sun/Earth?
What I mean is: suppose our solar system was instantly teleported into a different galaxy (eg Andromeda). Apart from the stars ...
- 191
2
votes
2
answers
68
views
The unlikely marriage of orbiting bodies
O.k. so we have an orbiting body such as the Earth around the sun or the moon around the Earth. The fact that they are orbiting does not fascinate me, it is my intuitive sense that there is a much ...
- 699
0
votes
2
answers
61
views
Could a 100 solar mass black hole at 0.01c passing just at 123 AU change the direction the sun is moving by 90°?
I asked the person claiming to have created this video of such an encounter why this simulation suggests that the sun is moving in a direction that is parallel to the plane of the ecliptic? I'd ...
- 267
-2
votes
3
answers
121
views
Why is the shape of the orbit of the Earth as it is?
My View: I think that if the sun were only force acting on earth (as a centripetal force), the earth would have a circular orbit. Since other planets also exist , there also exists gravitational force ...
- 159
2
votes
0
answers
26
views
Why do moons not get pulled into the planet while they clear their neighborhood? [duplicate]
Today, my 6 year old and I were discussing dwarf planets and their characteristics. We were talking about how, to be a considered a planet, the planet needs to clear it's neighborhood (as explained in ...
- 121
1
vote
3
answers
127
views
Is the solar system sitting in the centre of curved spacetime and if so, are we viewing the rest of the universe from inside that "bubble"?
I read an article about a huge bubble being discovered in which the solar system sits bang in the middle. It got me thinking about the curvature of spacetime. The bubble was created by several ...