Sarah Sherman Keplers Laws

Kepler’s Laws Worksheet Student Name: Sarah Sherman Section: 10 Comet name Semi Major Axis (AU) Periapse/ Perihelion distance (AU) Eccentricity Aphelion Distance (AU) [see instructions on how to calculate] P/2010 H2 (Vales) 3.832130 AU 3.078649 AU 0.196622 4.585611 AU 125P/Spacewatch 3.127579 AU 1.525855 AU 0.512129 4.729303 AU 96P/Machholz 1 3.030324 AU 0.116422 AU 0.961581 5.944226 AU 1) P/2010 H2 (Vales) → pretty circular, it does not cross any planetary orbits and lies between Jupiter and Mars. Its distance from the sun remains constant 2) 125P/Spacewatch → circular, it slightly crosses Mars planetary orbit and lies between Jupiter and Mars. Its distance from the sun remains constant 3) 96P/Machholz 1 → very oval, it crosses 4 planetary orbits and lies between Jupiter and Mars. Yes it does change 4) Which comet has the most similar orbit shape to the planets and what does this tell you about the eccentricity of the planets orbits? 125P/Spacewatch, this tells me that the eccentricity of the planet orbits is around .5 5) Which comet will have the largest changes in temperature? Explain 96P/Machholz 1 since its distance from the sun changes dramatically Location Date Distance from sun (AU) Aphelion (1) March 1st 2018 6.02 Half way to Sun October 30th 2020 3.01 Perihelion July 13th 2021 .9925 Half way away from sun March 26th 2022 3.01 Aphelion (2) October 24th, 2024 6.02 6) Does the comet spend more time close to the sun (within the halfway distance) or far from the sun(outside the halfway point). Provide evidence for your answer from your table. The commit spends more time close to the sun. According to my table, The comet was on or

within the halfway distance on 3 dates. 7) When does the comet move the fastest in its orbit? Give dates and use terminology. The comet moves fastest in the orbit when it is in Perihelion or closest to the sun. This occurred around July 13th, 2021. 8) When does the comet move the slowest in its orbit? Give dates and use terminology The comet moves the slowest in its orbit when it is Aphelion or farthest from the sun. This occurred on March 1st 2018 and October 24th, 2024. 9) Use the info panel to find the eccentricity of this comet. Eccentricity of 15p/Finlay: 0.717049 Planet “P” Period (years) “a” Distance to Sun (AU) Mercury .2410137 .387099 Earth 1.00071233 1.000003 Jupiter 11.86 5.202887 Uranus 84.10 19.189165 10) Insert graph here with trendline added. 11) Describe the graph using the trendline in your description. The graph is increasing 12) Looking at your table in the google sheet is P^2=a^3 exactly? Why or why not? No it is very similar, however, it is off by a few decimal places and in Uranus’ case a few digits. I. Definition of a Planet 13) In what direction does each planet orbit the sun? (clockwise or counterclockwise) Counterclockwise 14) How would you describe the eccentricity of the planet's orbits? Closer to 0 than 1.