Questions tagged [solar-system]
Refers to questions concerning the solar system containing Earth. For other solar systems, use the 'planetary-system' tag.
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Did Rosetta improve on models of non-gravitational effects on comet 67P's orbit?
Question: Since the presence of the Rosetta spacecraft near comet 67P allowed for a detailed mass measurement, extremely precise position and velocity determinations, and physcal measurement and ...
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Do the planets really orbit the Sun?
We often say that the planets orbit the Sun, which is usually a reasonable approximation. But in reality both Sun and the planets orbit the center-of-mass/center-of-gravity of the whole solar system, ...
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What's the (particle) density of the asteroid belt?
Obviously the asteroid belt is pretty sparsly populated. But how sparsly exactly?
What is the state of knowledge regarding how many particles are there in a given size bracket and a volume, what ...
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How much of the Interplanetary Transport Network is currently known?
The Interplanetary Transport Network is a network of mathematically-defined paths through our solar system that would require little to no energy for a spacecraft to follow them, albeit at very low ...
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How was the radius of Venus measured so accurately (± 3 km) via radar in the mid 1960's, before Venera 4 and Mariner 5?
In several answers to the question When did planetary scientists realize Venus' surface pressure was almost 100x that on Earth? How did they find out? the known radius of Venus is mentioned.
It was ...
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How would we move Venus or Mars into Earth's orbital zone? [closed]
(See the more focused version of this question: How long would it take to move Venus and Mars into Earth's orbital zone using gravity assist?)
What methods and time scales might be involved in moving ...
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Is Voyager 2 capable of proving the existence of Oort cloud?
Yesterday on Dec 10 2018, NASA announced that Voyager 2 probe has exited the heliosphere - the protective bubble of particles and magnetic fields created by the Sun and entered the interstellar-medium;...
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Does the Earth have any Trojan asteroids?
Are there any known Trojan objects residing in the Sun-Earth L4 (SEL4) and L5 (SEL5) Lagrange points, also named "Greek" and "Trojan" groups, respectively?
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Why are probes that tend to explore outer system always launched to go outwards instead of straight upwards or downwards?
Let's take a look at the trajectory of variety probe missions.
New Horizons and Ultima Thule will be 4.1 billion miles away when it visits the Kuiper Belt object. This chart shows the path of New ...
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What types of sustainable energy are available beyond Mars?
Most of the energy we use on Earth in our daily activities is a derivative of solar; wind, hydroelectric, coal, gas (oil), wood fire, solar cells. While we might not think about it, all of these are ...
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What target is the most difficult to reach in the solar system?
"Most difficult", as in the minimum $\Delta v$ required, the objective being capture into an orbit around the object.
Looking through some Delta-v maps, I would suspect the answer to be some inner ...
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What is the most fuel efficient way out of the Solar System?
I understand with current technology we can't just fly a straight line out of the solar system but which way out would need the least fuel?
Currently to navigate the solar system it is a dance ...
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Where could we build a space elevator today (2014)?
A space elevator is an interesting concept, allowing for very low cost transit to orbit. Currently we don't seem to have a technology that will provide a strong enough cable to make the climb from ...
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Where will we get nitrogen in space?
It's expensive to launch things out of a gravity well. So in the future, as we seek to manufacture things in space, it's worth exploring the possibility of harvesting them there as well.
In the ...
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How many solar system bodies have "knees" in their atmospheres?
Discussion lead to citing Why does Earth's atmospheric density have a big "knee" around 100 km? Is there a good analytical approximation? who's answer is "monatomic oxygen". ...
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Highest velocity impact between a spacecraft and a solar system body? What about for a dedicated impactor (spacecraft component)?
In this answer I mention the proposed impact of DART:
Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Mission
Double Asteroid Redirection Test
The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Element of the ...
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Locations of the terminator on Mars' surface on 1976-07-24T10:35:26Z?
How can I find points of latitude and longitude on Mars that fall on the terminator (day/night line) on a specific date, for example 1976-07-24T10:35:26Z as ...
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Are there any other options for human settlements in the solar system other than Mars? [closed]
A lot has been said about human settlements on Mars. However, are there any other options? I'm wondering what other planets/moons/asteroids would be good for settling — where else could humans set up ...
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Can a moon orbit its planet faster than its planet rotates?
Can a moon orbit its planet faster than its planet rotates?
Can a moon orbit its planet more than once per the planet's day? It seems possible but I'm not sure.
Are there any known examples of this ...
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How likely is it that the Voyager spacecrafts haven't yet been damaged by micrometeoroids?
Both Voyagers have been traveling at over $60,000$ km/h for well over four decades and still seem to function properly, taking into account the slowly dropping power and warmth available from their ...
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Does cosmic dust pose a problem for long-term satellites, telescopes and probes?
We have many long-term satellite observatories and probes in outer space way above the Earth's magnetosphere, and some of them progressively cruising out of our Solar system. Off the top of my head, ...
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Why is it so hard to figure out if Voyager 1 has left the solar system?
I recently noticed the comic above, and wondered what, exactly, makes it so hard to tell whether Voyager 1 has left the solar system. I can think of three reasons:
Scientists can't agree on where the ...
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Have Magnetorquers been used anywhere outside of the Earth?
On Earth, small satellites often include Magnetorquers. A magnetorquer allows the satellite to re-orient itself without using fuel in a way more permanent than magnets.
While not every planet has a ...
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Is it pure luck that the voyager 1 survived to travel beyond our solar system in interstellar space?
A random question. At the very first try we succeeded. Though it might not be strange, What was the probability of surviving so long with so many external variables and constants.?
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What is the largest body in the solar system we could meaningfully and accurately adjust the orbit of?
There is a lot of science fiction and emerging science that move comet and asteroids as part of the main plot. Pretty much everything in our solar system, is in orbit around the Sun, or in orbit ...
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What words are used to mean in relation to or origin of a planet?
Pretty simple question I think, but I am having trouble confirming a legitimate answer.
If things related to Mars are Martian, things related to Jupiter are Jovian, and things related to the Moon ...
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Has there been any mission to land on a planet or moon in the Outer Solar System?
Are there any planets or moons in the Outer Solar System, where a man-made object has landed and made photographs of its surface?
I can remember an article somewhere that said there's only one moon ...
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Why do some scientists want a moon base for further space travel? What are the advantages of a moon base if compared with an earth base?
The distance between moon and earth is just 384,400 km. So, if we can travel (from moon) to another planet, we also can travel (from earth) to the same planet. But I've read that some scientists want ...
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