A) if the mass of the star were doubled, what effect would this have on the gravitational attraction betwwen the star and its planet? Explain
B) if the distance between the star and the planet were 3 times as great, what effect would this have in their gravitational attraction for each other? explain
2007-05-13 08:39:53 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
A) It depends on how far away the planet is and how large the two objects were before the star was doubled in mass. Also, it depends on what the planet is made of. Many different variables are needed. Most likely, the planet would be pulled into the sun at a much faster pace than it was before the doubling in mass. If the planet was quite close to the star before it doubled in mass, the planet would be consumed by the star (which would tear the planet apart).
If the planet were a gas giant, like Jupiter, the gas would be sucked into the star due to the immense gravity (from the doubling in mass [if it were close to the star]). If the planet was further away, then it would just fall into the star at a faster pace.
B) Once the star doubled in mass, the planet's orbit would shrink and be pulled into the sun at a much faster rate.
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2007-05-13 08:56:01 · answer #1 · answered by Spilamilah 4 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Gravitational force between two objects is GMm/r^2, where G is the universal gravitational constant, M and m are the two masses, and r is the distance between centers of mass.
Applying this to A, you see that doubling one of the masses doubles the force. For b, 3x the distance results in 1/9 the force.
2007-05-13 09:22:14 · answer #2 · answered by injanier 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
a. As others noted, doubling the mass of a planet doubles the gravitational charm. besides the incontrovertible fact that, it additionally doubles the momentum, and it is that momentum that retains the planet in orbit quite of falling into the sunlight. the internet effect is that a larger planet could have an identical orbit as a smaller planet in the event that they are an identical distance from the sunlight. b. Gravity's power diminishes via the area squared between the gadgets. So at thrice extra out gravity would be 9 cases weaker.
2016-12-11 08:24:41 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mostly yes... gravitational attraction is linearly proportional with the masses of the involved bodies... as far as I know.
2007-05-13 08:50:14 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 4⤋