In: Physics
Imagine the Sun was dark and invisible. We would still know that we are moving in an elliptical orbit. As you know from class each ellipse has two foci. Is there a way for us to know which of the two foci the invisible Sun is at? Explain your answer.
Astronomers recently proposed the existence of Planet Nine, which is 10 times more massive than the Earth, and believed to have a fairly eccentric orbit. If the new planet is 200 AU from the Sun at its closest approach, and approximately 900 AU from the Sun at its farthest point, how long does it take Planet Nine to go around the Sun once?
Consider two iron bars. A red-hot iron bar, which has a peak wavelength of 0.7 micrometers for its thermal spectrum, and a white-hot iron bar, which has a peak wavelength of 0.35 micrometers. (Note: 1 micrometer = 1000 nanometers) a. How do the temperatures of these two bars compare? Give both a qualitative and quantitative comparison. b. Which bar is more luminous and how much more luminous is it? Assume that the bars have the same size and shape (why do we have to assume this?).