Questions tagged [solar-system]
Questions regarding the Sun and objects orbiting it.
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Details about the next big comet 2014 UN271?
The announcent of the massive trans-Neptunian object 2014 UN271 to be a comet is rather new (June 22nd, 2021) and really exciting. That comet is rather huge (~100km diameter) and "falling toward ...
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3answers
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Undiscovered dwarf planets
Scientists think there may be dozens of undiscovered dwarf planets in the Solar system. What I find intriguing is that, we have been able to detect distant galaxies and clusters, locate supermassive ...
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1answer
491 views
How do astronomers calculate the period about the wave motion of the solar system in the Milky Way?
According to research, excluding the motion of the entire galaxy, astronomers found the motion of the solar system in the Milky Way.
The solar system revolve around the galactic bulge of the Milky ...
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2answers
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Does Soter take into account Pluto's and Orcus' masses when determining Neptune's planetary discriminant µ?
Does Steven Soter's planetary discriminant µ1 for Neptune take into account the masses of Pluto, Orcus and other Kuiper belt objects crossing or coming very close to Neptune's orbit? If so, Neptune ...
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1answer
93 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 ...
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2answers
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If the hypothesized planet behind the Kuiper belt existed, would it have a barycenter outside the Sun?
In 2016, an additional object rotating our Sun has been suggested. Assuming it has 5 Earth masses, would the planet or black hole proposed by Brown and Batigyn have a barycenter within the Sun or ...
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1answer
38 views
Conversion of Moon's Celestial Position (RA and dec) to Equatorial Coordinates
I'm currently attempting to calculate the equatorial sky position of the Moon for any given Geostatic position (longitude / latitude) for any given datetime.
I have tested my altitude and azimuth ...
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77 views
Longest and Shortest day of the year in all planets
Can we trace the longest and shortest day of the year in other planets of Solar system similar to earth planet i.e. Mars, Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Neptune, Uranus?
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1answer
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Is this how stars’ right ascensions correlate to planets’ longitudes on a 2d map?
This is my first ever online question, so please bear with me:
I’m working on an A1-sized map of at least 100 of the largest solar system bodies (henceforth just called ‘planets’, ignorning the IAU ...
2
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2answers
49 views
Could Enceladus be too salty to support life?
The process of osmosis makes it possible for water to be sucked through a semi-permeable membrane in order to balance the concentrations of two solutions. Thus, a sufficiently salty ocean might drain ...
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1answer
40 views
Orbital parameters of the Sun [duplicate]
What are the orbital parameters of the Sun such as orbit velocity etc in it's orbit around the Solar System's center of mass? Consider the Sun pointlike or alternatively when talkin about the Sun's ...
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2answers
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How can Voyager have left the solar system while at the same time there are solar system objects much farther? [duplicate]
I'm aware of Where does the Solar System end? but this question is different because I'd like to focus on the specific announcement by NASA about the Voyager spacecraft "leaving the solar system&...
3
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1answer
86 views
Tidally locked Venus, is it possible and consequences?
Suppose, Venus becomes tidally locked. Will its dark side cool enough so that the CO2 from the atmosphere to precipitate in liquid form to make an ocean?
Also, I wonder, how close Venus is to becoming ...
2
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1answer
125 views
Is our Solar System moving independently through our galaxy?
I would like know if our Solar System is moving independently through our galaxy or is stuck on the Orion Arm which is revolving around our galaxy? Is our solar system an onboard passenger of the ...
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3answers
103 views
What's the minimal argument I can give to reject The Geocentric Universe?
I'm new to Astrophysics, So pardon me if you find it silly to ask. I was just started reading about the basics of astrophysics. I read about the Greek Tradition, the concept of a geocentric universe. ...
2
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1answer
83 views
What is the Milne-Eddington Approximation?
In this paper: Planet temperatures with surface cooling parameterized it states in the "radiation model" the following:
The Eddington–Milne approximation relates $T_0$ and $T_e$ through the
...
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49 views
Are interstellar meteorites more common on the moon's polar regions?
Given that the rocks of the solar system mostly travel on the disc, is there any considerable probability that impacts on the moon coming straight up and down can be interstellar rocks?
If axis-...
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2answers
698 views
Observing the motion of the solar system and galaxy through space?
This is very perplexing.
Conditions:
planets are moving around the sun (solar system)
solar system is moving as part of the galaxy
the galaxy is moving through space on some axis
galaxy is part of a ...
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0answers
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Why do the asteroids orbit the Sun in roughly the same plane as the planets?
The asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter is an extremely active environment (on an astronomical time scale) where collisions between 10km radius bodies occur every $10^7$ years, according to ...
2
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1answer
40 views
How can I find the width of an orbit knowing some values?
I need to find the width/x-radius of an orbit, which is ellipse shaped, knowing variables like the orbit's length(perihelion + aphelion in this case) and the eccentricity. I am not sure if this is ...
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3answers
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Why won't the Sun set for days at N66.2 which is below the arctic circle?
Correct me if I am wrong, but if we count sunsets by the center of the Sun apparently crossing the horizon then the Sun is supposed to set every day at latitudes under the arctic circle. (Yes if you ...
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2answers
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How to calculate center (not focus) of planetary orbit?
I'm developing a website showing the movement of Solar System planets according to the passage of time. I'm using this reference to calculate all the necessary orbital parameters.
These are two images ...
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2answers
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What pulls the Sun above the galactic plane and pulls it below the galactic plane?
Since the sun climbs above the galactic plane and it even dives below the galactic plane we can't deny that it wouldn't climb upward unless there is something above the galactic plane that pulls it ...
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2answers
91 views
Could our Sun be the product of an ancient stellar collision?
The canonical model for the formation of the Solar System involves the gravitational collapse of a nebula into (perhaps) several stars across several light years. Is it possible that two or more of ...
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1answer
250 views
If Planet Nine indeed exists, how large a impact event there should be to be seen from Earth?
Recently I've found this news article, A meteorite crashed into the Moon during total lunar eclipse in January, about a collision into the moon that happened while a lunar eclipse was under way. ...
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1answer
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How to measure mass of planets' core from orbit
I am told in an astrophysics lecture the following.
The mass of Saturn's core was measured by Cassini when it completed its final flyby between the rings and the planet itself. It was also found that ...
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2answers
214 views
What is the thickness of the Solar System disk?
What is the thickness in AU of the all planets' orbital plane height combined in the Solar System?
Excluding Pluto.
Looking for h
8
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1answer
575 views
How much matter was ejected when the Solar System formed?
Assuming the accretion disk model for the formation of the Solar System, the most important problem, according to wikipedia, is "how the material, which is accreted by the protostar, loses its ...
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1answer
110 views
River-like artifact in perseverance rover's photo of Mars
Good to know that perseverance rover has touched the surface of Mars finally. We will have nice new opportunity window for exploring our closest "friendly" planet of solar system.
Here's one ...
13
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1answer
2k views
How is it possible for a collision to be responsible for Uranus's axial tilt?
I realize that the collision explanation is in any case highly (purely?) speculative, but I'm curious how it would work. If Uranus is a ball of gas, why wouldn't any colliding object just pass ...
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0answers
62 views
North Stars of each Solar system planet?
What are the North Stars of each individual body points too?
E.g.
Earth points to Polaris.
Mars points to Deneb/Alpha Cygni.
What about Sun, Mercury, Venus, Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, ...
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1answer
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Why is Mercury's Density So Low?
I know the title sounds odd. You might be thinking "Doesn't Mercury have the highest uncompressed density of any terrestrial planet? Much higher than a planet its size normally should have?&...
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2answers
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Sample bias' contribution to “Planet 9” hypothesis, why was this not thoroughly addressed before?
Science Claim for giant 'Planet Nine' at Solar System's edge takes a hit
arXiv No Evidence for Orbital Clustering in the Extreme Trans-Neptunian Objects
The brightness of distant solar system objects ...
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1answer
189 views
Calendar year versus Tropical year
I'm wondering about the convention for keeping the calendar year in sync with the tropical (exact) year. I did a preliminary calculation, but, it seems to be out by more than the average calendar ...
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2answers
129 views
What are the Time Zones on Mercury?
I normally post on worldbuilding, but this question is merely about facts of a planets orbit and spin. I am trying to figure out how time periods work on Mercury to possibly make a worldbuilding guide ...
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1answer
65 views
Recently, the most distant object in the solar system was discovered. How was this accomplished?
It was recently announced that the most distant object in our solar system was discovered. This object averages 132 AU from the sun. The object, initially named Farfarout, was estimated to be 400 km ...
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Do moons of rocky oblate planets migrate to low inclination over time? If so, does the time it takes depend on the Moon's size?
Discussions elsewhere suggest that this happens and that smaller moons would tend to low inclination with respect to the planet's equator faster than larger ones.
For example, Mars' small moons are ...
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0answers
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Do the orbits of planets change? Where is the data for this?
Everything in the space is moving all the time.
Do the orbit of major Solar Systems planets, Mercury to Saturn change? Just like Moon's orbit around Earth changes.
How often, how small or big is the ...
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1answer
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Feasibility of Grand Tack Hypothesis
Something I've been wondering lately is how much the grand tack hypothesis stands up to present scrutiny. While the grand tack proposes that Jupiter and Saturn were caught in a 3:2 mean-motion ...
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2answers
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What is the antonym of “closest approach”?
The distance from Earth to Mars, during their closest approach, is about 55 million kilometers.
At their furthest apart, that distance would be about 401 million kilometers.
Distance
at closest ...
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1answer
52 views
Is the mass of Kuiper belt dominated by large objects?
There is a problem in my example sheet trying to teach me distributions. My result is that Kuiper belt objects are dominated by large mass objects. Is this supported by observational evidence?
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1answer
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Do some comets spin? If so, how fast?
The GIF below is copied from my question earlier What might a CN filter be in the context of comet watching? Is it showing dust, or gas, or something else? where I'd said:
In this post on the website ...
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1answer
217 views
Which will destroy the Earth first: the Sun or Jupiter?
The sun is expected to grow in brightness over time, slowly heating the Earth until the oceans evaporate, leaving the planet uninhabitable.
Jupiter is the source of the largest perturbations to Earth'...
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0answers
27 views
Sun's and planets' inclination to the Invariable plane
What are the inclinations of all major Solar system planets (Mercury to Pluto) to the invariable plane? Looking for accurate data calculated on them.
Also, What is the inclination of the Sun to the ...
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1answer
403 views
If the fifth gas giant in the early Solar System was completely ejected, where would it be now?
I've read about the possible 5th gas giant in the Solar System, and about its ejection about ~100 million years after the formation of the Solar System. However, I have not seen anything about its ...
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23 views
What if a planet or another star or ¨sun¨ collided with our sun? [duplicate]
Stellar collisions are a well-studied phenomenon in Astronomy, albeit mostly theoretically. In some cases the merger of two low-mass stars can result in a new star plus new planets around it.
But what ...
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2answers
909 views
Calculating the Angular Momentum of a planet
I want to calculate the Angular Momentum of any planet at any point on the orbit around the Sun.
Example: I want to calculate the Angular Momentum of Pluto today, on Jan 27, 2021 00:00:00 Hrs
Where ...
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3answers
529 views
What is the upper bound of number of stable interacting stars in a star system?
I remember very well reading in an article that it's impossible to have a stable star system of 4 or more stars. The article justified its claim discussing about the complexity such systems would have ...
2
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1answer
108 views
Moment of inertia factor of Venus and Pluto
Wikipedia's Moment of inertia factor begins:
In planetary sciences, the moment of inertia factor or normalized polar moment of inertia is a dimensionless quantity that characterizes the radial ...
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1answer
192 views
How many solar system objects that can really qualify as a KBO are likely to enter Pluto's Hill sphere each day?
A comment below Which celestial body is able to come closest to Pluto? says that
Technically, many, many small Kuiper belt objects enter Pluto's Hill Sphere (or sphere of influence SOI) every day.
...
