Say the earth is the size of a grape and the sun is a grapefruit, could there be a planet earth the size of a grapefruit and the sun it orbits a big melon :) now im not talking fruit although it seems it im just talking about the scale of things.... also not on about gas giants just about planets like earth ;)
2007-01-08 09:06:46 · 5 answers · asked by Mobile Phones 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Your question is actually quite interesting. Our solar system consists of four inner rocky (or terrestrial) planets and four outer gas giants. These gas giants can have solid cores several to 20 times the size of earth.
To be a rocky planet, you can't be too big (massive) or else its gravitational field would capture lots of gas, making it a gas giant. In the extreme, it could be so massive, that it becomes a binary star (and there are quite a few of these). If it is too small, as in the Moon, it would not have an atmosphere. (The biggest moon in our solar system, Titan, does have an atmosphere. It's mass is a little over 2% that of Earth).
So going from small to large: non-spheroids (asteroids too small to be round), spheroids without atmosphere, rocky planets and moons (with some atmosphere), gas giants, brown dwarfs (sub-stellar objects too small to start nuclear fusion), red dwarfs (small stars), yellow dwarfs (our sun), blue giants (large enough to fuse helium), and super giants (large enough to fuse heavier elements. These go supernova when they die and becomes a blackhole.)
(An aside: our sun has a core that is 10 times that of lead, but since it is 15 million Kelvin, it remains in a "gas". Five billion years from now, when our sun expires, that might change.)
2007-01-08 09:34:39 · answer #1 · answered by Kitiany 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Earth has a mean density over 5.5 grams per cubic centimeter (pure water is 1.0)
The Sun's mean density is only 1.4 (still a lot, considering that it is only gas through and through; very hot gas at that)
Thus, if a planet like Earth was the size of the Sun, it would have a mass of 4 Suns: the pressure and temperature at the centre would be more than enough for nuclear fusion and the "large Earth" would be a star.
It would, in fact, be much brighter (and hotter) than our Sun. However, because of the heat generated, it could not exist as a solid body: it would quickly become a gaseous star, larger than our sun (it could not stay that "small")
PS
A "thing" cannot be a planet if its mass is more than 90 times the mass of Jupiter. Depending on its composition, a star could be as light as 13 times the mass of Jupiter (but conditions would have to be just right).
Because of the manner in which planets are formed, it is thought (for now) that any large planet (Jupiter's mass or more) will be a gas giant, not a "terrestrial" planet.
2007-01-08 09:18:15 · answer #2 · answered by Raymond 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
about 15-20 times the size of the earth. When an earthlike planet is formed any bigger the atmosphere is to hot and boils off into space
2007-01-08 09:24:39 · answer #3 · answered by llloki00001 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
bravo, bravo i quite thought i had seen some strange and dumb questions yet that's definately on my suitable 5. we could cralify what a "planet" is as superb we are able to those days. A planet is something that's truthfully around and dominates its ingredient of area. as an occasion pluto become deemed a dwarf planet (which i won't be able to circulate in to via fact its kinda dumb) via fact there are issues that should potentialy bump it and make it no greater beneficial than a touch super meteor or something. earth is a planet via fact there is not any longer something quite that should beat earth out of the section. now given the definition ca there be yet another "planet" on a planet? no! duh in case you wanna understand the main important sphere or besides the fact that those issues are stated as (theres a posh observe i in basic terms won't be able to think of of it) i understand that the super ball at epcot is likely certainly one of the suitable contenders (dang whats that observe its like astro dome or something). besides relish getting solutions in this question and thank you for the chortle ROFL
2016-12-12 07:11:22 · answer #4 · answered by goslin 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There will never be a deffinate answer to this question.
The universe is vast and infinate, a Bit like J-Lo's butt.
2007-01-08 09:15:30 · answer #5 · answered by Mighty C 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋