All Questions
107
questions
0
votes
0
answers
49
views
Why does a total solar eclipse happen every 18 Months?
What is the math involved in calculating how often a total solar eclipse happens. Can you predict it by just looking at the period of the moon around the earth and the period of the earth around the ...
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
100
views
Estimate Saturn's mass [closed]
How can you estimate Saturn's mass using data from Cassini's final moments in September 2017 (apoapsis on September 12 at 1:27 a.m. EDT Saturn time at a distance of about $1.3*10^6$ km from Saturn, ...
2
votes
2
answers
284
views
How to measure the ratio of a planet's radius to a star?
I was reading a physics problem related to astronomy, and upon re-reading it, I realized that it could be really indicated to extrapolate some really interesting physics-related information.
One of ...
- 439
2
votes
3
answers
580
views
Why are distant planets illuminated like stars, but when approached closely (by a space telescope for example) it’s not illuminated? [closed]
when I look up into the night sky I see planets, not twinkling like the other stars, but still illuminated. However, when the Hubble or James Webb telescopes approach planets we see the local features ...
-5
votes
2
answers
391
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.
2
votes
1
answer
149
views
How distant is the horizon on Venus?
Strong atmospheric refraction can make the horizon on Venus much closer than expected, but how close is it? My naive calculation is very different from reported observations.
A source cited in How ...
- 11.7k
4
votes
2
answers
182
views
Are there planets orbiting something else than a star?
Exoplanet is a planet that orbits a star different from our Sun.
Are there any planets (that we know of) which orbit something else? (Like different giant planet or black hole or maybe neutron star.)
- 269
0
votes
2
answers
329
views
How to represent orbital velocity of a planet on an elliptical path in terms of time?
Before reading this long message, please know that this is question is posted to know whether there is a method to find the relation between between the orbital velocity of a planet on an elliptical ...
- 115
0
votes
1
answer
79
views
I am a bit stuck with the patched conic approximation for interplanetary travel between the Earth and Mars
I am writing an internal assessment for first year university on patched conic approximation. I am having some trouble calculating the departure angle from earth. This is because I have to calculate ...
1
vote
0
answers
45
views
Proving nearby planets are not antimatter [duplicate]
Observations of the universe make us think matter is much more common than
antimatter, and I believe no "probably-antimatter planets" have been found.
But, if Pluto, for example, somehow ...
- 1,016
2
votes
1
answer
74
views
What is the meaning of grain opacity and why does it affect the formation time of gas giants?
While doing research for my presentation on the formation of gas giants, more specifically the "core-accretion model", I have been stumbling across the term "grain opacity" and don'...
0
votes
1
answer
50
views
In a 2-dimensional sense, how do the perihelions of the planets in our solar system line up?
A bit of background, I'm currently making a 2d graphical representation of the planets orbits around the sun with Python for a university project which currently looks like the picture below (not ...
- 3
-1
votes
2
answers
98
views
Did we adapt to Earth or Earth to us? [closed]
I often hear that Earth is a unique planet because it has life and it has its own inhabitance. We also see a proper balance between plants and humans and other animals. Why life is not possible on ...
- 11.9k
0
votes
1
answer
120
views
How bright would the surface of each planet be?
At night when there is no moon in the sky, it is dark, you can not see your surroundings. If I were to stand on Pluto, could I see my surroundings? Would being on pluto at day be like night on earth ...
- 433
0
votes
2
answers
67
views
How to track orbit of an exoplanet?
I was wondering if there is an established method to keep track of the orbit of an exoplanet assuming we know $a$ - the semi-major axis of the orbit, $e$ - the eccentricity of the orbit, and $i$ - the ...
- 480