1) Every second the Sun outputs 3.90* 10^26 Joules of energy. Power is energy output per unit
time and is given in units of Watts (W) where 1 W = 1 Joule per second. The Sun's power
output is therefore 3.90*10^26 Watts. This is called the solar luminosity. As this energy travels
outward from the Sun it is spread (fairly evenly) over a spherical surface that increases in area
with distance from the Sun (recall the area of a sphere is proportional to its radius squared).
The energy received each second by an area of 1 m2 is called the energy flux.
a) Calculate the energy °ux from the Sun at a distance of 9:54 AU (that is, Saturn's mean
distance) from the Sun. How does this compare with the solar flux received at the Earth's
mean distance from the Sun?
b) Suppose we place a perfectly black sphere with radius 2600 km at a distance of 9:54 AU from
the Sun. How much direct solar energy does the sphere absorb in one second?
c) If the sphere in part (b) is in thermal equilibrium, what is its temperature?
d) Titan re°ects approximately 20% of the light that strikes its surface, and absorbs the rest.
Titan's radius is roughly 2600 km. How much energy from sunlight does Titan absorb each
second? What is the temperature of Titan if it has no internal heat sources of significance?
10 answers
D1 = distance of the earth from the sun
= 1 AU = 149,598,000,000 m
D2 = distance of Saturn from the sun
= 9.54 AU
Surface area, S, of a sphere of radius r
=4πr²
a.
For Saturn,
R2=9.54 AU
=9.54*149,598,000,000 m
S2=4πR2²
Solar flux
F2=P/S2
I get about 15 watts/m² for F2.
For earth, the flux would be 9.54² times higher.
b.
"perfectly black sphere" means all the electromagnetic energy that falls on it will be absorbed.
Cross sectional area of 2600 km sphere
A=π(2600000)² m²
Energy absorbed
=A*F2
For the equilibrium temperature, you will need the formulae from your course. The "black body surface temperature" generally requires the temperature of the surface of the sun and the sun's radius, which is not supplied. So I suspect a different method is used.
See also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_body
For the second problem, we are to calculate the sun's energy absorbed by the sphere which has a cross sectional area of πr². This area is similar to the shape of the moon when we see it from a distance.
If that is still not clear, feel free to post again.
What is the largest angle that can separate Ganymede from Europa from the point of view of a
terrestrial astronomer who observes both moons to the west of Jupiter? Make the assumption
that Jupiter, Ganymede and Europa are aligned.
what i got is 2.08 degrees!!!
You may have an error with units. Perhaps you calculated the number of minutes (and not degrees).
The angle subtended in radians, i.e. transverse distance divided by longitudinal distance, can be converted to minutes by dividing by the constant 0.000290888208666 and I got 2.18 minutes.
These are my data:
semi-major axis of Ganymede=1070412 km
semi-major axis of europa = 671034 km
Separation assuming they are aligned with Jupiter
= 1070412-671034=399,378 km
Mean distance of the earth from the sun
= 149,000,000 km
Mean distance of Jupiter from the sun
= 779,000,000 km
distance of the earth from Jupiter
= 779,000,000 - 149,000,000
= 630,000,000 km
Angle subtended by the two moons
= 399,378/630,000,000
= 0.000634 radians
= 0.000634/.000290888208666 minutes
= 2.18 minutes
I assume that the alignment of the moons with Jupiter occurs when it is perpendicular to the earth.
Ref:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moons_of_Jupiter
http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/kids_space/distance.html&fr=t
distance between earth and jupiter= 4.20 AU= 6.30*10^8 km
distance between jupiter and europa= 6710000 km
distance between jupiter and ganymede= 1070000 km
then i found the angles subtended by jupiter and europa, x (from earth viewpoint) since earth and europa makes 90 deg angle on jupiter. Similarly angle made by jupiter and ganymede, y, on earth.
tan x = 671000/(6.3*10^8)
=> x= 0.0610 rad = 3.50 deg
tan y = 1070000/(6.3*10^8)
=> y= 0.0973 rad = 5.58 deg
Now these angles are subtracted and we get 2.08 deg (=124.8 arc minutes) as the largest angle separating ganymede from europa, as seen from earth.
1.
"distance between jupiter and europa= 6710000 km "
The number has an extra zero (probably a transcription error for posting only). It does not change your answer because your subsequent calculations used the correct value.
2. The arctangent that you calcuated is already in degrees, so there is no need to convert from radians to degrees.
In fact, (0.0973-0.0610)=0.0363°=2.18 minutes of arc.
Check your calculator settings, and check how you can switch the setting from degrees to radians and vice versa.