contestada

We discover a nearby star with two planets. The first planet has an orbit period of 10 years and is in a circular orbit with radius 106 km. The second planet has an orbit period of 15 years. What is its orbit radius? You may assume it is also in a circular orbit.

Respuesta :

Answer:

Assuming the given radius is 10⁶ km, the radius of the second planet is 1.31 * 10⁶ km.

Explanation:

Newton's law of gravity:

(1) [tex]F=\frac{GMm}{r^2}[/tex]

Centripetal force:

(2) [tex]F=m\omega^2 r[/tex]

On a circular orbit both forces must be equal:

(3) [tex]\frac{GMm}{r^2}=m\omega^2 r[/tex]

Solving for ω:

(4) [tex]\omega=\sqrt{\frac{GM}{r^3}}[/tex]

The period T is given by:

(5) [tex]T=\frac{2\pi}{\omega}=2\pi\sqrt{\frac{r^3}{GM}}[/tex]

Taking the ratio of two periods:

(6) [tex]\frac{T_1}{T_2}=\sqrt{\frac{r_1^3}{r_2^3}}[/tex]

Solving for r₁:

(7) [tex]r_1=(\frac{T_1}{T_2})^{\frac{2}{3}}r_2[/tex]