Astronomy: Calculating Neptune's Mass from Triton's Orbit

AI Thread Summary
To calculate Neptune's mass using Triton's orbit, apply Kepler's Third Law, which relates the orbital period and radius to the mass of the central body. Given Triton's orbital radius of 355,000,000 meters and its period of 5.877 days, the mass of Neptune can be derived by rearranging the formula. The mass of Triton is negligible compared to Neptune, allowing for simplification in calculations. This approach will yield an accurate estimation of Neptune's mass based on Triton's orbital characteristics. Understanding and applying these principles is essential for solving the homework problem.
Branches
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
This question has been stumping me on my Astronomy homework for the past couple of days. I've tried to input the question into any of the other formulae that we've studied, but I keep drawing a blank on it.

Homework Statement



Given the size of Triton's orbit(a = 355,000,000 meters) and its orbital period (P = 5.877 days), calculate the mass of Neptune.
 
Physics news on Phys.org


Look up kepler's third law, it does include the mass of the moon but as long as this is much less than the mass of the planet it can be ignored.
 
Last edited:


Thanks.
 
Thread 'Confusion regarding a chemical kinetics problem'
TL;DR Summary: cannot find out error in solution proposed. [![question with rate laws][1]][1] Now the rate law for the reaction (i.e reaction rate) can be written as: $$ R= k[N_2O_5] $$ my main question is, WHAT is this reaction equal to? what I mean here is, whether $$k[N_2O_5]= -d[N_2O_5]/dt$$ or is it $$k[N_2O_5]= -1/2 \frac{d}{dt} [N_2O_5] $$ ? The latter seems to be more apt, as the reaction rate must be -1/2 (disappearance rate of N2O5), which adheres to the stoichiometry of the...
Back
Top