Questions tagged [solar-system]
Questions regarding the Sun and objects orbiting it.
554
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Where can I find a set of data of the initial conditions of our solar system?
As the title suggests, I'm in need of a set of data of our solar system. Similar to this http://bima.astro.umd.edu/nemo/archive/#iau25, but more specifically, the Dubinsky Milky Way-Andromeda data.
I'...
2
votes
2answers
2k views
What would happen if a planet is removed from the solar system? [closed]
More exactly what would to happen to us/Earth in general if any of the gas giants is removed by magic from the solar system ?
How long would it take after such change before we notice it ?
How major ...
3
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0answers
161 views
Intrasolar planetary surface temperature change divergence from Earth
Considering the vast amount of insulating gas emitted by human activity on Earth without a coincident release on all other planets in the solar system as well as the phenomenon that planets in a solar ...
4
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2answers
882 views
Hamiltonian of general three body problem
i try to extend my analysis from planar restricted three body problem to the general one.
Is there anyone that can help me to find out the Hamiltonian for this prolem in cartesian coordinates?
I ...
16
votes
1answer
4k views
Why is the solar system often shown as a 2D plane?
Whenever I have learned about the solar system I always see the orbits displayed as a virtually flat plane.
Are all of the orbits in the solar system really like this? If so, why? It seems like a ...
2
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2answers
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How are East and West defined on other bodies of our solar system?
I noticed that East and West appear swapped on maps of the Sun, even though the Sun rotates around its polar axis in the same sense as Earth.
See for example below Sun disk with a Venus transit ...
3
votes
1answer
796 views
Position and velocity vectors of nearby stars?
One of my favorite tools for modeling the solar system is the Horizons Ephemeris generator where I can get position and velocity vectors of various bodies. Is there something similar for neighboring ...
4
votes
2answers
636 views
Why is every year the same number of days despite the gravity in the solar system?
I was just watching a Geoff Marcy talk on YouTube showing how they infer the presence of planets transiting distant stars. The supposed periodicity wasn't always quite regular from what I could see, ...
2
votes
2answers
333 views
How did Bradley arrive at the +/- correct speed of light when he calculated it?
After Bradley discovered stellar aberration and the corresponding constant of aberration he was able to calculate the speed of light, since he knew the speed of the Earth around the Sun.
As far as I ...
10
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2answers
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Why are most planetary orbits nearly circular
In our solar system, with the exception of Pluto all planets follow a relatively circular orbit around the Sun, at the same inclination. They also all rotate in the same direction, none are '...
8
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3answers
370 views
Galactic Habitable Zone
Do galaxies have habitable zones the same as stars do? Say in a galaxy with a very active nucleus producing a lot of heat and radiation, would there be a point at which no star's planets could harbor ...
2
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5answers
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Why can't I see Mars clearly?
I just bought my first telescope - a Celestron CDC 1100. It came with a 40mm lens so with a primary focal length of 2800mm the power should be 70x.
My problem is that I've looked at Sirius and Mars ...
5
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1answer
138 views
Do planetary surface temperatures change in unison in a solar system?
Are there any known correlations between the changes in planetary surface temperatures in a solar system?
If so, do the farthest planets have smaller albeit correlated changes?
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2answers
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What is the maximum number of planets in the habitable zone?
At present, it seems like we are alone in our solar system. How many earth-like planets would fit into the habitable zone of the solar system?
The orbits should be stable for quite a time, i.e. for ...
2
votes
1answer
86 views
Heavy bombardment - Why has things cooled?
I was always taught and lead to believe that at the beginning of our solar system, there was a period of heavy bombardment, which is conceivable.
Why has it just stopped and we are at peace from this,...
12
votes
1answer
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Why does the darkening of the Moon go from left-to-right during an eclipse?
In anticipation of the upcoming April 2014 lunar eclipse, I decided to use the 3D virtual planetarium software Stellarium to simulate what it is supposed look like where I live, since I've never ...
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2answers
129 views
If NASA is going to capture an asteroid with a spacecraft, wouldn't a UFO be able to manuever a celestial body? [closed]
This article got me thinking If NASA is going to use our primitive space exploration technology to capture an asteroid wouldn't an Extra Terrestrial species have used UFO's to maneuver celestial ...
6
votes
4answers
697 views
Do solar systems have to evolve in a galaxy?
Is it possible for a solar system like ours to exist and evolve apart from all other star systems and galaxies. Sort of like a stand alone solar system or rogue solar system for lack of a better name. ...
16
votes
1answer
340 views
Any possibility for life on moons of planets in our Solar System
We all focused on our moon, to find water or life, or any thing related to life. But my question is, is there any chance for life in moons of other planets in our solar system, others have too many ...
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2answers
3k views
the most accurate system that can show the positions of planets at my birthday [closed]
My birthday : 4 December 1982
If you have such astronomical calculator on your computer please send me the result !
Alternatively if you know an online astronomical service for my purpose please ...
14
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5answers
9k views
Does the gravity of the planets affect the orbit of other planets in our solar system?
When one planet passes near another during its trip around the sun, does their gravitational pull is strong enough to disrupt noticeably each other's orbit ?
9
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1answer
537 views
Asteroids between Mars and Jupiter
Is the cluster of asteroids between Mars and Jupiter two dimensional as seen in every model of solar system shown in books or television? Or is it three dimensional as i think it should be?
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3answers
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Pluto's orbit overlaps Neptune's, does this mean Pluto will hit Neptune sometime?
We know that the orbits of Pluto and Neptune overlap.
This means that pluto sometimes crosses the orbit of Neptune; will Pluto hit Neptune in any circumstance?
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1answer
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Can we calculate the average temperature of the heliosphere?
It is my understanding that one can measure the temperature of the universe by measuring cosmic microwave background radiation. Could we also use this method for calculating the average temperature of ...
24
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3answers
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Are we made of the stuff of one star or more stars?
[T]his coincidence enabled stars in the late stages of their lives to turn helium into carbon, oxygen and most of the other atoms that you and I are made of. [...] [W]e're made of star stuff.
Max ...
10
votes
1answer
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Emulation of an Orrery
Orrery is a clockwork model of the solar system. I am trying to emulate one in 2D. Now, to emulate, I need to know what goes on inside. Can someone please explain the basic principle behind the ...
12
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2answers
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What was the length of year 1 million years back?
We know that the universe is gradually expanding and this indirectly means that the gravitational force between sun, earth, planets and other stars (roughly anything in the universe) is gradually ...
20
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2answers
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Hypothetical trans-Neptunian planets orbiting the Sun
The planet HD 106906 b was found at 650 AU from its home star, a star not so different from the Sun. Fomalhaut b is also a young planet that is orbiting very far away from its star.
These two planets ...
14
votes
3answers
4k views
Is the Jupiter-Sun system considered a binary system of some type?
Since Jupiter is very massive, it is the only planet (in our solar system) that has a center of mass with the Sun that lies outside the volume of the Sun. (Source)
If Jupiter was a star, they would ...
12
votes
1answer
133 views
Is there a pattern between the mass of a body and the mass of orbiting objects around it?
I was looking at Wikipedia's Solar system page, and it says that Sun represents 99.86% of the whole solar system mass. I found that pretty huge.
So i calculated ratio of masses : Earth / (Earth + ...
9
votes
2answers
949 views
Why do the planets in the Solar system stay in the same orbital plane?
An earlier question addressed why all planets formed in the same orbital plane, but how is this angle maintained? What prevents the planets from taking on a different orbital plane?
6
votes
1answer
273 views
Source of T Tauri wind?
What particularly causes the T Tauri star to eject the strong bipolar wind which clears the gases around the star?
11
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1answer
7k views
Finding the solar noon based on longitude and latitude?
Please could someone advise the best method of finding the solar noon based on location?
http://pveducation.org/pvcdrom/properties-of-sunlight/suns-position
The stuff on here has been helpful but I ...
9
votes
1answer
124 views
What does observational evidence say about the number of protoplanets believed to exist in the early solar system?
Currently, the solar system has 8 major planets, a handful of dwarf planets and a plethora of asteroids, comets and natural debris, and of course, a rather locally dominant star (the Sun). There are ...
11
votes
1answer
2k views
What effects do other planets have on the solar system?
For instance, Jupiter is the biggest planet in our solar system. Due to it's gravitational mass it can deflect meteorites and protect Earth from the Oort cloud. While these are positives, the ...
17
votes
2answers
1k views
What reason is there to doubt the existence of the hypothesised planet Tyche in the far distant solar system?
Please note, I do not necessarily believe in its existence, just after a scientific (hence, non-Wikipedia) reasoning to doubt the planet's existence, other than the "we would have seen it" argument. ...
7
votes
1answer
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Are Barlow lenses stackable for bright objects?
I'm back to the refractor that I own, and I want to maximize the zoom capacity. I realized today that I own more than one barlow lens, and I was wondering if I could stack them together for looking at ...
20
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1answer
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How do/did we figure out that planets move in orbits?
I've learned that planets move in orbits around the Sun, but I really don't know how I would come to this conclusion myself. I've only seen planets in the sky a couple times (knowingly), and I am ...
40
votes
2answers
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Why is our solar system “tipped” about 63° with respect to the plane of our galaxy?
Our own solar system is "tipped" by about 63 degrees with respect to the plane of the galaxy. Has it ever been researched or is there any scientific theory which could explain the reason why our solar ...
18
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2answers
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How many planetary systems exist in our galaxy?
For many years scientists have studied our own solar system and modern technology allows them to look deeper and deeper into space. Knowing the Sun is only one of a few billion stars in the Milky Way ...
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5answers
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How many planets are there in this solar system?
So, in school (that's a long time ago) they have been teaching us there are 9 planets in our solar system.
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
But every now and then I keep ...
10
votes
2answers
372 views
Did the Late Heavy Bombardment Period Happen Because of a Stellar System Collision?
I was thinking about the impending collision between M31 and the milky way galaxy, and I've heard that since a galaxy is mostly space most of the contents of both galaxies would be just fine. Could a ...
15
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3answers
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What Causes the Large Radiation Fields Around Jupiter?
I had heard that the large radiation belts around Jupiter may be formed by liquid metallic hydrogen in (or around) Jupiter's core (which Wikipedia says haven't been observed in labs yet due to the ...
8
votes
1answer
401 views
Have Pluto or any of its moons been mapped?
I was looking over some of the data for the terrestrial planets, and noticed that Venus, despite its cloud covering, had been mapped by the Arecibo Observatory. Also that other planets such as mars, ...
10
votes
2answers
676 views
Which is the closest exoplanet to Earth?
The closest star to Earth (after the Sun) is well-known: Alpha Centauri, 4.3 light years away. But what about the closest exoplanet to Earth, outside of the Solar System?
11
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2answers
305 views
Does the Moon Have Enough Water for Robert Zubrin's Mars settlement Plan To Work?
In Robert Zubrin's "The Case for Mars" he outlines a plan to settle Mars by(among other things) finding water and using electrolysis to break up water into Hydrogen and Oxygen. This provides fuel for ...
21
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1answer
417 views
How often do comets survive passage by the Sun?
I had heard that comet ISON might not survive a close pass by our Sun, and I was curious about the odds of how other comets had fared. So, how often do other comets survive a close pass by our sun? ...
13
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1answer
147 views
What implications do younger Earth and Moon have on Late Heavy Bombardment genesis hypotheses?
The Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB) or the Lunar Cataclysm is when the inner solar system, including the Earth and the Moon, underwent multiple and sustained heavy impacts early in their history (around ...
15
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2answers
277 views
Are any Pluto-sized objects remaining to be discovered in the Kuiper Belt?
An object approximately the same size as Pluto, Eris, was discovered only 8 years ago (in 2005). Are there any Pluto-sized objects remaining to be discovered, and if so, how far away from the Sun ...
18
votes
2answers
579 views
What are the current observational constraints on the existence of Nemesis?
Nemesis is a hypothetical companion to the Sun on a very eccentric, long-period orbit. The star supposedly returns every few tens of millions years, driving comets into the inner solar system and ...
