Astronomy
1st Edition
ISBN: 9781938168284
Author: Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. Wolff
Publisher: OpenStax
expand_more
expand_more
format_list_bulleted
Videos
Textbook Question
Chapter 12, Problem 21E
In the Star Wars movie Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, a key battle takes place on the inhabited “forest moon” Endor, which supposedly orbits around a gas giant planet. From what you have learned about planets and moons of the solar system, why would this be an unusual situation?
Expert Solution & Answer
Want to see the full answer?
Check out a sample textbook solution
Students have asked these similar questions
Imagine that astronomers have just discovered a planet orbiting another star (other than the Sun), and they have reported the mass of the planet as 4.2 Jupiter-masses. Explain in a few words what this means.
Why do we think that planets in our Solar System were not formed out of the gaseous disk by direct
gravitational collapse?
Planets are formed in disks. Disks rotate too fast to collapse gravitationally to form planets.
In disks that are not massive enough, tidal gravity of the central star prevents the disk gas from collapsing.
The material in the disk orbits close to the star. This makes the disk too hot, and pressure support
prevented the disk from gravitational collapse.
The gravity of the forming planets was not enough to accrete gas.
Calculate the escape velocity to an orbit of 393 km height from a planet with the radius of 2000 km and the density of 3400 kg-m³. Give your answer in
Sl units.
Chapter 12 Solutions
Astronomy
Ch. 12 - What are the moons of the outer planets made of,...Ch. 12 - Compare the geology of Callisto, Ganymede, and...Ch. 12 - What is the evidence for a liquid water ocean on...Ch. 12 - Explain the energy source that powers the...Ch. 12 - Compare the properties of Titan’s atmosphere with...Ch. 12 - How was Pluto discovered? Why did it take so long...Ch. 12 - How are Triton and Pluto similar?Ch. 12 - Describe and compare the rings of Saturn and...Ch. 12 - Why were the rings of Uranus not observed directly...Ch. 12 - List at least three major differences between...
Ch. 12 - The Hubble Space Telescope images of Pluto in 2002...Ch. 12 - Saturn’s E ring is broad and thin, and far from...Ch. 12 - Why do you think the outer planets have such...Ch. 12 - Ganymede and Callisto were the first icy objects...Ch. 12 - Compare the properties of the volcanoes on Io with...Ch. 12 - Would you expect to find more impact craters on Io...Ch. 12 - Why is it unlikely that humans will be traveling...Ch. 12 - Why do you suppose the rings of Saturn are made of...Ch. 12 - Suppose you miraculously removed all of Saturn’s...Ch. 12 - We have a lot of good images of the large moons of...Ch. 12 - In the Star Wars movie Star Wars Episode VI:...Ch. 12 - Which would have the longer orbital period: a moon...Ch. 12 - How close to Uranus would a spacecraft have to get...Ch. 12 - Saturn’s A, B, and C Rings extend 75,000 to...Ch. 12 - Use the information in Appendix G to calculate...Ch. 12 - The average distance of Enceladus from Saturn is...
Additional Science Textbook Solutions
Find more solutions based on key concepts
3. What is free-fall, and why does it make you weightless? Briefly describe why astronauts are weightless in th...
The Cosmic Perspective
A thin converging lens is moved closer to a nearby object. Does the real image formed change (a) in position, (...
Physics for Scientists and Engineers with Modern Physics
Why is critical damping desirable in a cars suspension?
Essential University Physics: Volume 1 (3rd Edition)
A narrow beam of white light enters a prism made of crown glass at a 45.0incident angle, as shown below. At wha...
University Physics Volume 3
52. As your bus rounds a flat curve at constant speed of 20 m/s, a package with mass 0.500 kg, suspended from t...
College Physics (10th Edition)
Calculate the total thermal energy in a gram of lead at room temperature, assuming that none of the degrees of ...
An Introduction to Thermal Physics
Knowledge Booster
Learn more about
Need a deep-dive on the concept behind this application? Look no further. Learn more about this topic, physics and related others by exploring similar questions and additional content below.Similar questions
- Nearly all planets that astronomers have found orbiting other stars have been giant planets with masses more like Jupiter than Earth, and with orbits located very close to their parent stars. Does this prove that our Solar System is unique? Explain your answer.arrow_forwardhelpp plzarrow_forwardWhen astronomers found the first giant planets with orbits of only a few days, they did not know whether those planets were gaseous and liquid like Jupiter or rocky like Mercury. The observations of HD 209458 settled this question because observations of the transit of the star by this planet made it possible to determine the radius of the planet. Use the data given in the text to estimate the density of this planet, and then use that information to explain why it must be a gas giant.arrow_forward
- In the classic 1913 science-fiction novel At the Earth’s Core, by Edgar Rice Burroughs, explorers discover that the earth is a hollow sphere and that an entire civilization lives on the inside of the sphere. Would it be possible to stand and walk on the inner surface of a hollow, nonrotating planet?arrow_forwardIn Table 2, there is a list of 15 planets, some of which are real objects discovered by the Kepler space telescope, and some are hypothetical planets. For each one, you are provided the temperature of the star that each planet orbits in degrees Kelvin (K), the distance that each planet orbits from their star in astronomical units (AUs) and the size or radius of each planet in Earth radii (RE). Since we are concerned with finding Earth-like planets, we will assume that the composition of these planets are similar to Earth's, so we will not directly look at their masses, rather their sizes (radii) along with the other characteristics. Determine which of these 15 planets meets our criteria of a planet that could possibly support Earth-like life. Use the Habitable Planet Classification Flow Chart (below) to complete Table 2. Whenever the individual value you are looking at falls within the range of values specified on the flow chart, mark the cell to the right of the value with a Y for…arrow_forwardThe search for extrasolar planets fall broadly into two categories, what are they? Lensing and transits Astrometry and Doppler shifts Speckle imaging and interferometry Dust emission and radio bursts Direct and indirect detectionarrow_forward
- A certain binary system consists of two stars that have equal masses and revolve in circular orbits around a fixed point half-way between them. If the orbital velocity of each star is v=186 km/s and the orbital period of each is 11.3 days, calculate the mass M of each star. Give your answer in units of the solar mass, 1.99×1030 kg (e.g. if each planet's mass is 3.98×1030 kg, you would answer "2.00").arrow_forwardSomewhere far, far away on the other side of our galaxy, there is a new protoplanetary disk where two baby planetesimals are growing. Planetesimal A is currently 5x10° kg, and Planetesimal B is 2x105 kg. If these two planetesimals are 100 meters apart, what is the gravitational force between them? (Hint: the Universal Gravitational Constant (G) is 6.67x10-11 Nm²/kg²) Gm,m2 FG r2 Planetesimal A Planetesimal B 5 x 10°kg 2 x 105kg 100 metersarrow_forwardWhich of these is an example of an energy source that could exist on Europa (or beneath its surface) and help enable life in a Europan ocean? a Volcanoes and/or hydrothermal vents on the seafloor b Solar flares from the Sun that penetrate Europa's ice and send radiation into the liquid-water ocean c Europa's rapid motion as it orbits Jupiter d The combustion of fossils fuels beneath the surface, similar to burning coal in the Earth's crustarrow_forward
- An exoplanetary system has two known planets. Planet X orbits in 290 days and Planet Y orbits in 145 days. Which planet is closest to its host star? If the star has the same mass as the Sun, what is the semi-major axis of the orbits for Planets X and Y?arrow_forwardV5arrow_forwardThe certain forest moon travels in an approximately circular orbit of radius 14,733,533 m with a period of 11 days 13 hr, around its gas giant exoplanet host. Calculate the mass of the exoplanet from this information. (Units: kilograms) (Note: if 'numerical answers only' appears, type your answer in the form '12.67e7' or '12.67e+7' with a lower case e instead of 'x10^7')arrow_forward
arrow_back_ios
SEE MORE QUESTIONS
arrow_forward_ios
Recommended textbooks for you
AstronomyPhysicsISBN:9781938168284Author:Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. WolffPublisher:OpenStax
Foundations of Astronomy (MindTap Course List)PhysicsISBN:9781337399920Author:Michael A. Seeds, Dana BackmanPublisher:Cengage Learning
An Introduction to Physical SciencePhysicsISBN:9781305079137Author:James Shipman, Jerry D. Wilson, Charles A. Higgins, Omar TorresPublisher:Cengage Learning
Astronomy
Physics
ISBN:9781938168284
Author:Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. Wolff
Publisher:OpenStax
Foundations of Astronomy (MindTap Course List)
Physics
ISBN:9781337399920
Author:Michael A. Seeds, Dana Backman
Publisher:Cengage Learning
An Introduction to Physical Science
Physics
ISBN:9781305079137
Author:James Shipman, Jerry D. Wilson, Charles A. Higgins, Omar Torres
Publisher:Cengage Learning
Kepler's Three Laws Explained; Author: PhysicsHigh;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyR6EO_RMKE;License: Standard YouTube License, CC-BY