ASTRO101assignment4
ASTR 101- Assignment 4
1. What are the basic differences between the terrestrial and jovian planets? Which planets fall into each group?
There are a few notable differences between terrestrial and jovian planets. Terrestrial planets are smaller in size and mass and jovian planets are larger in size and mass. Terrestrial planets are mostly made of rocks and metals, while jovian planets are mostly made of hydrogen, helium, and hydrogen compounds. This is why jovian planets are nicknamed “gas giants.” Terrestrial planets have solid surfaces which are warmer because they are closer to the Sun. Jovian planets have no solid surfaces and have cooler temperatures because they are farther from the Sun.
Terrestrial planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. Jovian planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
2. Size Comparison. How many Earths could fit inside Jupiter (assuming you could fill up all the volume)? How many Jupiters could fit inside the Sun? The equation for the volume of a sphere is
Jupiter radius = 71492 km
Earth radius = 6378 km
71492/6378= (11.21 km)3 = 1408.38 x 3.14 x 0.75 = 3318
About 3318 Earths could fit inside Jupiter
Sun radius = 696000 km / 71492 km = (9.74 km)3 = 922.69 x 3.14 x 0.75 = 2174
About 2174 Jupiters could fit inside the Sun
3. Describe each of the three key processes that led the solar nebula to take the form of a spinning disk. What observational evidence supports this scenario?
The first process the solar nebula underwent involved its collapses. As it shrank or collapsed, the temperature of the solar nebula rose and its gas particles increased in speed. The Sun forms in the center of the cloud, where the temperature and particle density is at its highest.
The second process is a continuation of the clouds shrinkage or collapse, which caused its rotational speed to accelerate. The more it condensed, the faster it went. The conservation of angular momentum showed that as the cloud spun faster, the more spread out the
1. What are the basic differences between the terrestrial and jovian planets? Which planets fall into each group?
There are a few notable differences between terrestrial and jovian planets. Terrestrial planets are smaller in size and mass and jovian planets are larger in size and mass. Terrestrial planets are mostly made of rocks and metals, while jovian planets are mostly made of hydrogen, helium, and hydrogen compounds. This is why jovian planets are nicknamed “gas giants.” Terrestrial planets have solid surfaces which are warmer because they are closer to the Sun. Jovian planets have no solid surfaces and have cooler temperatures because they are farther from the Sun.
Terrestrial planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. Jovian planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
2. Size Comparison. How many Earths could fit inside Jupiter (assuming you could fill up all the volume)? How many Jupiters could fit inside the Sun? The equation for the volume of a sphere is
Jupiter radius = 71492 km
Earth radius = 6378 km
71492/6378= (11.21 km)3 = 1408.38 x 3.14 x 0.75 = 3318
About 3318 Earths could fit inside Jupiter
Sun radius = 696000 km / 71492 km = (9.74 km)3 = 922.69 x 3.14 x 0.75 = 2174
About 2174 Jupiters could fit inside the Sun
3. Describe each of the three key processes that led the solar nebula to take the form of a spinning disk. What observational evidence supports this scenario?
The first process the solar nebula underwent involved its collapses. As it shrank or collapsed, the temperature of the solar nebula rose and its gas particles increased in speed. The Sun forms in the center of the cloud, where the temperature and particle density is at its highest.
The second process is a continuation of the clouds shrinkage or collapse, which caused its rotational speed to accelerate. The more it condensed, the faster it went. The conservation of angular momentum showed that as the cloud spun faster, the more spread out the