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Yae Miteo
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Question: Just as in the title. How large can a planet be and still have the Earth's mass? Obviously, this depends on its composition, just as long as it's solid and life can exist on it.
Yae Miteo said:Question: Just as in the title. How large can a planet be and still have the Earth's mass? Obviously, this depends on its composition, just as long as it's solid and life can exist on it.
Chronos said:If a planet were composed entirely of ice [highly improbable], it would be less than 2 Earth diameters in size.
tadchem said:Newton's Law of Gravitation:
F = G*M1*M2/r^2
The surface acceleration of a planet (M2) is:
g = G*m2/r^2
but m2 = (4/3)*pi*r^3*d where d is the average density of the planet
so g = (4/3)*G*pi*r*d
Choose your favorite g and d and solve for r.
Chronos said:I fail to see how this is relevant, snorkack.
snorkack said:Highly relevant.
The question:
how big can an Earth mass solid planet be?
reduces to the question
how low density can Earth mass solid planet have?
And that depends on the compressibility of stone at high pressures.
The mass of a planet can be determined by measuring its gravitational pull on objects around it, or by observing its orbit around a larger object.
Earth's mass is approximately 5.97 x 10^24 kilograms.
Yes, a planet can be larger than Earth and still have the same mass. This is because a planet's mass is determined by its density, not just its size.
The maximum possible size for a planet with Earth's mass would depend on its density. However, based on current scientific knowledge, it is estimated that a planet with Earth's mass could be up to 2-3 times larger in diameter than Earth.
Yes, there are several known exoplanets that have similar mass and size to Earth. However, their composition and density may differ, making them unique from Earth.