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Life in the Universe - 3rd Edition

Chapter 1 Questions


1) What do we mean by a habitable world? Does a habitable world necessarily
have life?

By habitable worlds, we mean any worlds that contain the basic necessities for life.
There is no sense in searching for life on a world that lacks the foundational elements
that constitutes whether or not a world can support life. Furthermore, habitable does
not mean life-bearing. It merely means that it offers environmental conditions such that
life could either arise or survive on it.

2) As discussed in class, the Greeks actually considered both Earth-centered and
Sun-centered models of the cosmos
a. Briey describe the pros and cons of each model as they were seen in ancient
times, and explain why the Greeks preferred the geocentric model.
b. Suppose you could travel back in time and show the Greeks one observation
from modern times. If your goal was to convince the Greeks to accept the
Sun-centered model, what observation would you choose and why?

a) The geocentric model derived both pros and cons from the fact that its foundation
was based on heavenly perfection. The Greeks believed that God created the
universe, and with mankind being his most prized creation, would revolve the
universe around his people. So believing that Earth was the center of the universe
was not only easy to believe but in all actuality made the most logical sense.
However, heavenly perfection had its cons, with the most notable being that if all
objects move in perfect circles in a perfect universe, how then could one explain the
apparent retrograde motion of the more distant planets. Ptolemy offered a complex
explanation of circles rotating within circles, which ultimately was accepted because
the population at large stood adamant in their belief of an Earth-centered universe.
This belief of heavenly perfection is ultimately what ruled out a Sun-centered
universe even though there were observations that supported such a universe. The
most notable support being that it explained the retrograde motion of other planets in
a much more straightforward and scientic manner.
b) If I were to travel back in time to convince the Greeks that our universe was Sun-
centered rather than geocentric, I would most likely bring up the concept of stellar
parallax. Stellar parallax refers to the annual shifts in stellar position. Such shifts can
be detected though telescopic observations, and it is these shifts that ultimately prove
the Sun is actually the center of the universe.



3) The recently discovered object Sedna orbits our Sun beyond Pluto, at an
average distance (semi-major axis) of 509 AU. What is its orbital period?

p
2
= a
3
a = 509 AU, therefore, p2 = 509 cubed
So p is equal to the square root of 509(^3) = 131,872,229.0

Therefore Sedna has an orbital period of the square root of 131,872,229.0 which is
equal to 11,483.56 years.

4) Halleys comet orbits the Sun every 76 years
a) Find its semimajor axis distance in km
b) Halleys orbit is an extremely eccentric ellipse, so that at perihelion it is
only about 90 million km from the Sun, compared to more than 5 billion
km at aphelion. Does Halleys comet spend most of its time near its
perihelion distance, near its aphelion distance, or in between?

a) p
2
= a
3
p = 76.0 years 76 squared = 5,776 years
So a is equal to the cube root of 5,776 years which is 17.94

Therefore Halleys comet has a semimajor axis of 17.94 AU
1 AU is equivalent to 149.6 km so the comet is 17.94 (149.6) km
In kilometers, the comet has a semimajor axis of 2,683,824,000km.

b) Halleys comet spends most of its time in the middle of its orbit. The
difference between the comets distance from the Sun from perihelion to aphelion is
so great that it implies that the comets orbit is extremely elongated in the middle
and has short and rapid bends at both its aphelion and perihelion. It is because of
the very elongated elliptical pattern the comet follows that it spends most of its time in
the middle of its orbit and not at its aphelion or perihelion.


5) In what sense was Neptune discovered by mathematics, rather than by a
telescope?

Newtowns universal laws of gravitation had virtually solved the mystery behind gravity.
However, when Uranus was discovered in 1781 its orbit was slightly inconsistent with
what was predicted by Newtons laws. Astronomer Urban Leverrier suggested that an
eighth unseen planet (Neptune) could be orbiting beyond Uranus. He predicted the
precise location using Newtons laws and sent his data to Johann Galle at the Berlin
Observatory. Galle pinpointed Neptune at almost the exact point Leverrier had
suggested it to be. It is because Neptune was discovered primarily because of
Newtons laws that Neptune was found via mathematics, rather than by a telescope.

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