-What's the age of the solar system according to current theory? 15 billion, 4.5 billion, 40 million or 5 trillion years old. I can't seem to find the answer. No matter where I look.
-What scenarios result in the highest astronomical tide (new, full moon etc and is it at apogee or perigee)
2007-04-09 06:00:27 · 6 answers · asked by cookieswithafork 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
The currently-accepted age of the solar system is about 4.5 billion years.
The highest tides result from the moon being at perigee at either new moon or full moon.
The reason is that the tidal effect depends in part on the strength of the body's gravitational pull and part on the distance. A body that's closer has more pull on the oceans, and also a higher percentage differential between the pull on the near side of the earth and the pull on the far side. So the Moon's tidal effect is greatest when the Moon is closest, which is perigee.
The Sun has about half the tidal effect of the Moon, because it's so much farther away. The highest high tides occur when the Sun and Moon are lined up with the Earth, which is at new moon (the Moon is between the Earth and the Sun) and at full moon (the Earth is between the Moon and the Sun). At those times the gravitational pulls of the Sun and the Moon reinforce each other. The lowest high tides occur when the Moon is at apogee and at first quarter or third quarter, when it's pulling at right angles to the Sun's pull.
2007-04-09 06:29:49 · answer #1 · answered by Isaac Laquedem 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the age of the solar system is about 4.5 billion years old, i'm not sure how you could not find that anywhere.
tides would be greatest when the moon is at perigee. it doesn't really matter what phase the moon is, but if it is a new moon or a full moon then the sun would also help out the tides making them higher.
2007-04-09 13:18:33 · answer #2 · answered by Tim C 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
4.5 billion is the age of the Earth.
The solar system is older, but I don't know how much.
Not an answer so much as a clarification.
2007-04-09 13:26:57 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I heard that it is around 45 billion years old. They can't come do a specific time because the universe is "warped" and makes calculating things like how old it is very hard. They know where the "center" of the universe is so they are trying to calculate from there.
2007-04-09 13:09:07 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
4.5 and perigee
2007-04-09 13:16:49 · answer #5 · answered by hilltopobservatory 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
(13.7 ± 0.2) billion years
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_the_universe
2007-04-09 13:13:48 · answer #6 · answered by Gene 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋