Reference no: EM131026269
(1) When the Voyager 2 spacecraft sent back pictures of Neptune in 1989 the spacecraft's radio signals traveled for four hours at the speed of light to reach Earth. How far away was the spacecraft? Hint: Remember that distance = rate x time. You will need to convert the speed of light (3 x 108 m/s) into meters per hour. There are 3600 seconds in an hour.
(2) At what configuration (for example superior conjunction, greatest eastern elongation, and so on) would it be best to observe Mercury or Venus with an Earth-based telescope? At what configuration would it be best to observe Mars, Jupiter or Saturn?
(3) If a comet has a highly elliptical orbit around the Sun, where does it spend most of its orbit? (a) close to the Sun (b) far from the Sun (c) moving toward the Sun (d) moving away from the Sun
(4) Which of the following observations is NOT possible? (a) Mars at opposition (b) Mercury at greatest western elongation (c) Saturn at greatest western elongation (d) Jupiter at opposition
(5) Calculate the force of gravity between the Earth and the Moon. Hint: You will need to look up the mass of the Earth and the Moon in your textbook (or on the web) as well as the distance from the Earth to the Moon. Make sure your units are correct; the masses should be in kilograms (kg) and the distance from the Earth to the Moon should be in meters (m).
(6) What observations did Galileo make that enforced the heliocentric view of the solar system? Why couldn't these observations be made before Galileo's time?
(7) How much force do you have to exert on a 500 kg spacecraft to give it an acceleration of 3 m/s2?
(8) Name three characteristics about our solar system that any theory of how our solar system formed must take into account.
(9) In the heliocentric model, would an imaginary observer on the Sun look out and see planets moving in retrograde motion? Why or why not?
(10) We claim that Aristarchus first wrote of the heliocentric model, but whatever document in which he described this theory does not survive and has been lost to history. How is it we know of this lost document? In what other document or documents might it have been referenced? This question will require some research on the internet.