In: Physics
Astronomers have discovered a new planet around a nearby Sun-like star. The following data on the planet is known. It has a density of 1.4 relative to water along with a mass of 7.8×1027 kg and a radius of 77,000 km, and its orbital period is 0.52 years.
a) From this information determine the following: the mass and radius of the planet relative to Earth, semi-major axis of the planet’s orbit, as well as the mass of the host star. (Note: To find the relative value of any quantity take a ratio of the new value to the comparison value, for example in this case the comparison values are Earth’s)
b) From the information given and derived in part a), determine what type of planet this new discovery is and in which part of its solar system it lives.
c) Given what we discussed in class about planetary atmospheres,
predict what kind of atmosphere this planet will have.