Astrology Flashcards
Gravity Well
A gravity well is the curvature of space time caused by the gravity of a massive object
What does “Asteroid” mean?
Star-like
How many asteroids are there in the Solar System?
~1 million
What is an asteroid
Objects in space that are smaller than planets that are mostly rocky and metallic and were formed in the warm inner solar system
List the 3 types of asteroids
Carbonaceous(Made of Carbon ~75%), Siliceous(~17%), Miscellaneous(Mostly Metal ~8%)
Asteroid Desert(Kirkwood gaps)
A gap in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter
Why do asteroid deserts form?
At simple fractions & multiples of Jupiter’s orbit, Jupiter would pull them out of orbit with its gravity
Why is there a main asteroid belt?
Objects forming at the start of the solar system, after collisions, splitting up into smaller objects
What is a Lagrange Point?
Points in an orbit where the gravitational forces are equal, causing them to stay still
Where are Lagrange Points?
60 degrees ahead/behind of a planet
Equation for gravity
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1p1zWiUjuqvcsPqJAftSdau6ApEUSbfnX
Universal law of Gravitation
The idea that all particles are attracted to one another:
gravitational constant * mass of body 1 * mass of body two / distance squred
Acceleration due to gravity on Earth
9.81 m/s^2
Newton’s 3rd law
Whenever one objects exerts a force on a second object, the second object exerts an equal and opposite force on the first object
Foci
Points where the planet moves around within orbit
Center
Center of the shape
Radius(r)
Average distance from the center of an ellipse
Unit of speed for velocity vectors
(km/s)
Keyhole
A region of space near Earth that, if an asteroid comes through, Earth’s gravity would bend it enough for the object to impact the Earth a few years later
Procedure for avoiding an asteroid impact:
1.
2.
- Hit the asteroid to move it off course
2. Launch a probe with a decent mass near the asteroid to pull it into a safe orbit with the probe’s gravity
Velocity vector graph axes
i speed(where the x-axis would be) represents east-west speed j speed(where the y-axis would be) represents north-south speed
Kepler’s First Law
Every planet’s orbit around the Sun is an ellipse
Kepler’s Second Law
Planets do not move with a constant speed while orbiting - they move faster while closer and slower while farther
Kepler’s Third Law
The square of the time taken for a planet to orbit the Sun is proportional to the cube of the length of the semi-major axis
-> The farther away a planet is, the longer it takes to orbit
Perihelion
Point in orbit that is closest to the Sun
Aphelion
Point in orbit that is the farthest from the Sun
Kepler’s first law describes the __ of a planet’s __
shape, orbit
Kepler’s second law describes how an object’s __ varies along its __
speed, orbit
Kepler’s third law __ the __ of objects in __ of different sizes
compares, motion, orbits
What’s the difference between asteroids & comets?
Asteroids - Rocky & Metallic, formed in the warmer, inner solar system
Comets - Icy, Dusty, Rocky, formed in the colder, outer solar system
Trojan Asteroids
Asteroids that share an orbit with a planet - asteroids clustered around a planet’s LaGrange points
Formula for eccentricity
E(eccentricity)
= c(distance between focal points)/a(major axis)
True of False: The total distance from the focal points remains constant throughout a planet’s orbit
True
