Midterm I: Suggested
Study Problems, in no particular order
the low altitude orbital period for a spacecraft in orbit about Mars, the
Moon, and Mercury. Write a relationship between the orbital period and the
average density of each planet.
the angular momentum of the Earth-Moon system about their common center of
mass, and compare it to the total angular momentum about the Sun. Also estimate the rotational angular
momentum for the Earth and Moon assuming they are uniform density spheres.
the aphelion speed of the Earth to the perihelion speed of Mars.
the Virial Theorem to write an expression for the “kinetic temperature” of
a cluster of stars.
Jupiter moves within one Hill radius of the Sun. Will it be tidally disrupted?
the energy levels for a simple Bohr model of positronium.
the Kelvin Helmholtz contraction timescale for Neptune,
given that it releases 2.5 times as much flux as it receives from the Sun.