2007-03-16 16:37:12 · 8 answers · asked by space-rocks! 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
It is the interval between successive passages of a satellite through the same specified point in its orbit.
Add the word galactic and it means an object is orbiting
the galaxy .
So what you have is it is the time an object takes circling a galaxy
2007-03-16 16:43:58 · answer #1 · answered by spaceprt 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The galactic year is the period of time it requires for the solar system to orbit once around the center of the Milky Way galaxy. Estimates of the length of one orbit range from 225 to 250 million terrestrial years, and the present age of the solar system is estimated at between 18 and 22 galactic years. . Because a billion-year scale does not allow for useful discrimination between geologic events, and a million-year scale generates some very large numbers, the galactic year is a good unit for measuring events which occur over a long duration of time.[3] This scale may occasionally be referred to as the "cosmic year", though that term is more commonly used to describe the scale popularized by Carl Sagan.
2007-03-17 00:02:14 · answer #2 · answered by paul13051956 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Period of the Sun's Orbit around the Galaxy The sun is one of hundreds of billion of stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way. The galaxy is composed of gaseous interstellar medium, neutral or ionized, sometimes concentrated into dense gas clouds made up of atoms molecules, and dust. All of the matter -- gas, dust, and stars -- rotate around a central axis perpendicular to the galactic plane. The centrifugal force caused by the rotation balances out the gravitational force, which draw all the matter toward the center.
The mass is located within the circle of the Sun's orbit through the galaxy is about 100 billion times the mass of the Sun. Because the Sun is about average in mass, astronomers have concluded that the galaxy contains about 100 billion stars within its disk.
All stars in the galaxy rotate around a galactic center but not with the same period. Stars at the center have a shorter period than those farther out. The Sun is located in the outer part of the galaxy. The speed of the solar system due to the galactic rotation is about 220 km/s. The disk of stars in the Milky Way is about 100,000 light years across and the sun is located about 30,000 light years from the star's center. Based on a distance of 30,000 light years and a speed of 220 km/s, the Sun's orbit around the center of the Milky Way once every 225 million years. The period of time is called a cosmic year. The Sun has orbited the galaxy, more than 20 times during its 5 billion year lifetime. The motions of the period are studied by measuring the positions of lines in the galaxy spectra.
i think...
2007-03-16 23:42:17 · answer #3 · answered by DeepBlue 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Just by the words, I would guess its the time it takes an object to orbit the galactic center once. For the sun, that is about 220 million years.
2007-03-16 23:42:40 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
It's the length of time it takes the Sun to make one orbital trip around the Galaxy.
HTH âº
Doug
2007-03-16 23:56:31 · answer #5 · answered by doug_donaghue 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Are you taking the same class as 'astronomy student'? Don't you guys have a textbook?
2007-03-17 00:32:21 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
it is the span of time that it takes our solar system to revolve around the milky way galaxy
2007-03-17 00:13:16 · answer #7 · answered by Adam B 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is the time it takes for you to travel one time around the house looking for feminine protection.
2007-03-16 23:47:54 · answer #8 · answered by bobsimpson1947 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋