Questions tagged [earth]

Questions regarding the planet on which humans live; the third planet from the Sun.

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Winter in June in the future for North hemisphere

Kleppner and Kolenkow, An introduction to mechanics The period of the precession is 26000 years. 13000 years from now, the polar axis will not point toward Polaris, the current north star; it will ...
Kashmiri's user avatar
  • 133
3 votes
1 answer
202 views

Mars is getting closer to Earth through its elliptical orbit becoming more eccentric. Do Earth and Mars keep getting closer? [closed]

A NASA Mars article says: Mars' orbit is more elliptical than Earth's, so the difference between perihelion and aphelion is greater. Over the past centuries, Mars' orbit has been getting more and ...
Rob Clennell's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
481 views

How to actually obtain the parallax angles that are used to determine distances of stars?

I’m trying to understand how to measure the distance to nearby stars using the parallax method. My question is: how do you get the value of the p angle?
codependent's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
569 views

If the sun would be two times as big and with the same power output would temperature on Earth change? [duplicate]

Suppose the suns radius is increased by two. And suppose its emitted power doesn't change. Will we notice this on Earth? It will seem twice as big but apart from that what will we notice(if anything). ...
Deschele Schilder's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
49 views

What is the formula to input date, time and longitude. Where I can get latitude of the civil twilight back?

I am making a watch app, where I need to know where there is currently sun, and where it's not. I need to have some sort of formula/function to insert: date, time and longitude, and get back the ...
patchie's user avatar
  • 101
1 vote
1 answer
196 views

Why is the globe/compass symbol used more often than the globus cruciger for Earth? [closed]

Why is that symbol 🜨 used more often (or almost always) when portraying e.g. Earth mass or Earth radii than the globus cruciger ♁ ? From my point of view the globus cruciger fits much better as ...
John's user avatar
  • 1,548
5 votes
1 answer
385 views

What is meant by "revolution of Sun's apogee"?

While reading Translation of the Surya Siddhanta and of the Siddhanta Siromani(1861) - Bapu Deva Shastri, I stuck in the follwing. Chapter I, verse 41 & 42 In a KALPA (4.32 billion years), there ...
Supriyo Halder's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
55 views

Why does Earth have only one moon? [duplicate]

The moon was first formed billions of years ago when a Mars-sized object crashed into Earth. The pieces formed over time to create our moon. Why was only one moon formed? Could Earth have had other ...
chowder's user avatar
  • 492
1 vote
0 answers
125 views

Would a future Dyson sphere or swarm around our Sun actually be beneficial to people on Earth? [closed]

A Dyson sphere or swarm's function is to harvests most of a star's energy, correct? However, a future Dyson sphere around our Sun would also block the Sun's rays from reaching Earth. Wouldn't it ...
CiurkitboyN's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
212 views

Calculating Angle Between Two Planets In Heliocentric Orbit

My goal is to calculate the retrograde of Mercury. What I've been working from is the book, Practical Astronomy With Your Calculator 3rd edition. I've made some progress, but I seem to be stuck with ...
Misfit's user avatar
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-1 votes
1 answer
1k views

Maximum and minimum masses and sizes of giant planets?

What are the minimum & maximum masses and diameters of giant planets? Minimum end of the scale Earth has mass of 1 Earth mass and a mean radius of 6,371.0 kilometers, and thus a mean diameter of ...
M. A. Golding's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
217 views

Questions on apparent motion of superior planets

Question Why is it that superior planets seem to oscillate up and down of the ecliptic, from the view of an observer on Earth, with a period equal to the planet's orbital period? Additionally, why do ...
William Jauntelle's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
814 views

Why does Earth have a dip in the CO2 absortion spectrum from 14 to 16 micron?

This paper shows that there is a dip in the CO2 absorption spectrum of Earth. In essence the trough of the absorption of CO2 for Earth is cut into two separate troughs instead of 1 large trough. Why ...
a.t.'s user avatar
  • 193
1 vote
0 answers
80 views

What is the period of the 'cycle' of Earth's ecliptic variation, relative to the 'invariable plane'? 70,000 or 100,000 years?

The plane of Earth's path around the Sun, the ecliptic, is different from the average of the solar system's as a whole (the invariable plane) by about 1.57°.... Our path around the Sun, though, goes ...
Kurt Hikes's user avatar
  • 4,891
1 vote
1 answer
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Did we adapt to Earth or Earth to us? [closed]

I often hear that Earth is a unique planet because it has life. We also see a proper balance between plants and humans and other animals. Why is life not possible on another planet? Often people say ...
Young Kindaichi's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
495 views

How big and how far away would the moon be if earth was the size of Jupiter?

If the earth were the size of Jupiter, what would its 'moon' be in both relative size and distance? I did some quick figuring and think I roughly figured out that if placed at the position of the sun, ...
Steven Stutzman's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
71 views

Will the night sky ever be more stars than darkness? [duplicate]

Given enough time, will enough light from distant stars reach Earth so that our night sky will be more than 50% stars?
Abhigyan Kumar's user avatar
21 votes
5 answers
21k views

Why would it be very light out at 3 AM?

My brother noticed something very odd last night: it was amazingly light out when he stepped outside for a smoke even though it was between 3 AM and 3:30 AM EDST and we are near Toronto Ontario Canada,...
Henry's user avatar
  • 311
3 votes
0 answers
244 views

Other side of Earth when the Dinosaur-killer struck

When the (Chicxulub) asteroid hit Yucatan, what was it like in the minutes, days and weeks afterward on distant locations on Earth? Related How loud was the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs?
stretch's user avatar
  • 1,608
3 votes
1 answer
383 views

Synodic Day and Sidereal Day

If given the sidereal day, is it possible to derive the synodic day of Earth? If a derivation is possible, could anyone illustrate it or point me in the right direction? Wikipedia's Synodic day begins:...
Shaun Ethan C. Phangcho's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
209 views

Do the earth and the moon reflect the different fractions of total solar radiation proportionally?

Reading on this website that: "All of the energy from the Sun that reaches the Earth arrives as solar radiation". "Solar radiation includes visible light, ultraviolet light, infrared, ...
Constantthin's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
384 views

How is bond albedo calculated?

According to this website, Bond albedos are computed by calculating the ratio of the flux reflected by a planet (integrated over wavelength) to the total stellar flux incident on the planet. Three ...
Constantthin's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
127 views

What is the highest albedo of the earth's surface facing the sun ever measured?

This website (page 26) claims that full-earth-shine on the moon is 100 times greater than full-moon-shine on earth. The figure 100 is made up of the difference between the size of the earth and the ...
Constantthin's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
108 views

How can the author of this article conclude that earth-shine on the moon is 100 times brighter than moon-shine on earth? [duplicate]

I don't understand the reasoning of the author of this article, on page 26. How can he conclude that full earth-shine on the moon is 100 times brighter than full moon-shine on earth?
Constantthin's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
67 views

Which unit is most suitable in comparing needed light intensity for night reading on the Moon, vs on Earth?

Which unit is best to use, and why, when determining how many times easier it is to read a newspaper (or any other printed text) on the moons surface at night under a full earth, compared with reading ...
Constantthin's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
261 views

Scholarly work on the gravitational disruption of a rocky planet by a close pass with another planet?

note: While the apparently abandoned question Effects of a rogue planet passing between the Earth and the Moon? (inspired by Thundarr the Barbarian) asks for speculation and was answered with it, this ...
Roger Wood's user avatar
  • 1,359
2 votes
2 answers
595 views

Formula to calculate the apparent magnitude of Earth from arbitrary distances

I would like to calculate the apparent magnitude of Earth from various distances, say from the Voyager probe at this moment or from various stars in the sky. I know there must be a formula that I can ...
antgiant's user avatar
  • 213
3 votes
1 answer
452 views

Exact ecliptic position of Earth and Moon from Mars as photographed by Curiosity Rover?

I've been studying the idea of travelling through space and navigation - in particular: Apollo sextant (used by astronauts to plot the position of their spacecraft relative to stars). And, in order to ...
user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
309 views

Is Earth's rotation Slowing down or Increasing

Recently read that Earth is rotating faster than earlier1. However so far it is understood that earth's rotation is slowing down and to conserve the angular momentum Moon is going away from the Earth. ...
Mohan Mone's user avatar
13 votes
4 answers
4k views

Is it at all possible for the sun to revolve around as many barycenters as we have planets in our solar system?

Though it is understandable that the sun and the earth may be revolving around a barycenter, but, if so, not only the sun and Jupiter should also be revolving around some barycenter, the same should ...
S C Sawhney's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
603 views

If it only takes 8 minutes for that light to reach the Earth, what took up most of the time? [closed]

If it only takes 8 minutes for that light to reach the Earth, what took up most of all that time to get to the Earth?
Twyla's user avatar
  • 1
6 votes
3 answers
8k views

Will Earth rotate backwards in the future?

Hello recently I heave heard the earth will eventually start rotating in the opposite direction (ie sunrise from the west) . I am not sure if this is true, but a lot of sites are claiming it to be ...
X caliber's user avatar
  • 105
4 votes
2 answers
4k views

Does the earth spiral around the sun's movement/motion path?

I have watched the following video (How Earth Moves by Vsauce) regarding how earth moves: I have some questions: Does the earth spiral around the sun's path as it is ...
knowledgeseeker's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
154 views

What would the Earth's peri- and aphelion have to be in order to have the same seasons due to its orbit?

Imagine the Earth had no axial tilt but had seasons due to a very elliptical orbit. How elliptical would the Earth's orbit have to be in order to have about the same seasons as it has now (just with ...
Greenhorn's user avatar
  • 387
1 vote
0 answers
125 views

Meteor size and frequency distribution for Earth vs. moon or other planets?

I struggle to find an answer to the at-first-sight simple question if or how the size distribution and frequency distribution of incoming rocks hitting the ground or the atmosphere vary from Earth, to ...
B--rian's user avatar
  • 5,526
1 vote
2 answers
1k views

North node, South node correct understanding

What is the correct concept of the North node and South node? There is some conflicting information on the internet. Which one of these two is correct? 1. Sourced from some Astrology material - How ...
Majoris's user avatar
  • 555
2 votes
1 answer
195 views

Where did the nickel in the Earth's core come from?

Why is there nickel in the core of the earth? Does it come from collisions of two neutron stars? And how did we know the core of our planet is made of nickel-iron alloy? Thank you.
Jack the Ranger's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
26 views

The electron–cyclotron maser emissions from Earth

The first-ever detection of radio signals caused by the electron–cyclotron maser mechanism outside of the Solar System, on Tau Bootis b was recently published (here). This phenomenon causes huge radio ...
Carlos Vázquez Monzón's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
339 views

How long was a lunar month in ancient times?

As the Moon is getting farther and farther from Earth, it's natural that the time it takes to circle around our planet is going to increase, thus the month will be longer. However, I read that the ...
longtry's user avatar
  • 403
5 votes
2 answers
620 views

After what time interval do the closest approaches of Mercury to the Earth repeat?

The sidereal period of Mercury's revolution is 88 days and the synodic period — 116d. my solution, but in the question featured "the greatest rapprochement." And this is no longer so easy. ...
марат's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
68 views

Do planets have effect on velocity of Earth?

There is method for finding extrasolar planets called Transit-timing variation. If I understood correctly, exoplanets accelerate or decelerate each other (according on their position), so we can ...
Michal's user avatar
  • 313
2 votes
2 answers
360 views

Why doesn't smashing larger and larger bodies incrementally into a rocky planet create a star?

Let's start with a stationary Earth. If we smash a few Mercury-sized objects into the Earth, the Earth begins to accrete mass. Repeat this step with larger and larger objects, until we start impacting ...
WarpPrime's user avatar
  • 6,613
20 votes
4 answers
6k views

If suddenly "knocked" or perturbed from its orbit, would gravity eventually return the Earth to its original orbit?

If suddenly "knocked" or perturbed from its orbit, would gravity eventually return the Earth to its original orbit? I am curious as to whether this is even possible. It seems to me that ...
ifeoluwa king's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
127 views

How do I calculate the elevation angle to the horizon?

I'm creating an app to visualize the southern area of the moon from a first-person perspective. I'm trying to determine if a point on the surface is a "checkpoint," where the elevation angle ...
gnaw's user avatar
  • 101
1 vote
2 answers
164 views

Is "Zero Shadow Day" necessary to perform Eratosthenes' experiment?

Eratosthenes experiment to find the circumference of the Earth is usually said to be performed on the Zero Shadow Day at Syene. Is it necessary? Can this experiment be performed on any day for two ...
Chetan Waghela's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
664 views

Does the Sun and Moon basically appear to "move on the sky" identically regardless of location and date?

For a long time, I've been trying to use Stellarium (simulation) and many visualizations and animations in order to get a good idea of how the Sun and Moon move across the sky, as seen by a human from ...
X. Katen's user avatar
10 votes
3 answers
2k views

What orbital period would produce one New Moon (and one Full Moon) each year? What other effects would this produce?

I am interested to know whether it's possible for the moon to orbit the earth at such a rate that we would see only one New Moon and one Full Moon a year. If so, what other effects would we experience?...
wallace's user avatar
  • 231
1 vote
1 answer
158 views

Which way does the Earth tilt? [closed]

On which side does the earth tilt to? I have tried figuring it out myself but I can't seem to find the answer.
Jackson's user avatar
  • 11
11 votes
7 answers
5k views

Why are the time zones calculated as 360°/24 and not 361°/24 or 360°/23.933?

Background: I'm training to be a geography teacher. Currently I have practice lessons and I'll be discussing solar time and standard time with the class. Now I stumbled over an issue to which I could ...
mfran's user avatar
  • 139
0 votes
1 answer
552 views

How accurate is Stellarium at depicting the Earth, from the Moon, approaching a solar eclipse (from Lunar perspective)?

This is how Stellarium depicts the positions of the Earth and Sun 24 hours before the solar eclipse (from Lunar perspective) on Jan. 13, 2131 A close up of the Earth on that day (Jan 12) shows no ...
Bob516's user avatar
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