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Explorations: Stars, Galaxies, and Planets
Thomas Arny, University of Massachusetts
The Outer Planets

Problem Solving



1

Use the modified form of Kepler’s third law, illustrated in figure 14.5 (and discussed in detail in chapter 2), to calculate Pluto’s mass from the orbital data for Charon that is given in the text. Be sure to convert the orbital period to seconds and the orbital radius to meters before putting those numbers into the formula.
2

How long does it take sunlight to reach Pluto?
3

Calculate the density of Charon, given that its radius is approximately 593 kilometers and its mass is about 1.1 x 1024 grams. (Be sure to convert kilometers to centimeters or meters.) Is it likely that Charon has a large iron core? Why?
4

Show that Pluto’s orbital period is very close to one and one-half times Neptune’s. Use the data in table 4 of the appendix.








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