Discovering the Radius of a Planet with a Man, a Parachute, and a Satellite

  • Thread starter Thread starter johnW
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Circles
AI Thread Summary
A man parachutes from 1000 meters above a spherical planet and observes a satellite rising at the eastern horizon. The satellite reappears 1.5 minutes later when he is 2 meters above the surface at the equator. The angle difference between the radius of the planet plus 2 meters and the radius plus 1000 meters is calculated to be 1.35 degrees. Additionally, the satellite's position changes at a 90-degree angle over 100 minutes. The discussion raises the question of determining the planet's radius, suggesting it resembles a homework problem.
johnW
a man jumps out of a plane w/ a parachute at 1000m above a spherical planet (point A). He sees a satellite rise at the eatern horizon. Standing 2 m above surface of the planet (equator)(point B), the satellite re-appears 1.5 minutes after he saw it at 1000 m above sea level. From this point, the satellites position is exactly corresponding to a 90 degree angle from the zenith, ie, point B = middle of the planet. The difference in angle between radius of small planet+2 and radius+1000 is 1.35 degrees. Similary, 90 degree altering of position for satellite takes 100 minutes.
What is the radius of the planet?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
This sounds like a homework problem to me... Perhaps it should be moved to the Homework help section?
 
I think it's easist first to watch a short vidio clip I find these videos very relaxing to watch .. I got to thinking is this being done in the most efficient way? The sand has to be suspended in the water to move it to the outlet ... The faster the water , the more turbulance and the sand stays suspended, so it seems to me the rule of thumb is the hose be aimed towards the outlet at all times .. Many times the workers hit the sand directly which will greatly reduce the water...
Back
Top