Look up the masses and radii of Mercury and Jupiter and calculate their escape velocities, using the equation in chapter 3. Does this help you see why the one body has an atmosphere but the other doesn’t? (Note: Be sure to convert kilometers to meters as necessary.)
The escape velocities of Mercury and Jupiter. And explain why the one body has an atmosphere but the other doesn’t.
Answer to Problem 3P
The escape velocity of Jupiter is
Explanation of Solution
The mass of Jupiter is
Write the formula to find the escape velocity
Here,
Substitute
The escape velocity of Jupiter is
Substitute
The escape velocity of Mercury is
Mercury is closer to the Sun and therefore, its gas molecule in its surface will have high temperature and the molecules will have higher velocity. Jupiter is far away from the Sun and hence, it is cold and has gas molecules with lower velocity. Also the escape velocity of Mercury is must lesser than Jupiter, the gases will escape from Mercury easily. Therefore, Mercury does not have an atmosphere.
Conclusion:
Thus, the escape velocity of Jupiter is
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Chapter 8 Solutions
Loose Leaf For Explorations: Introduction To Astronomy
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- Foundations of Astronomy (MindTap Course List)PhysicsISBN:9781337399920Author:Michael A. Seeds, Dana BackmanPublisher:Cengage Learning