How to Determine Why Neptune and Pluto Do not Crash into Each Other

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how-to-determine-why neptune and pluto do not crash into each other

How to determine why neptune and pluto do not crash into each other where their orbits overlap.  The two arches overlap but do not touch each other.

Science.aksiografi.com – Early models of the universe depicted the solar system with Earth at the center and Saturn as the outermost planet. The modern view of the solar system describes a group of celestial bodies orbiting the star known as the Sun, with Pluto as the outermost planet. The Sun is one of at least 100 billion known stars in our Milky Way Galaxy, and this galaxy is just one of many in the vast universe. (See article: How to Make Geocentric.)

A satellite is a body that orbits a planet or star (a sun). Natural satellites are celestial bodies that orbit a planet or star. The natural satellites orbiting the Sun include asteroids (small irregular bodies also called minor planets) and nine major planets; in order from the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Natural satellites that orbit planets, include moons or particles that makeup rings. Man-made bodies boosted into orbits, such as around Earth are called artificial satellites. Uranus was discovered by the German-born British astronomer Sir William Herschel (1738–1822) in 1781. Neptune was discovered by the English astronomer and mathematician John Couch Adams (1819–1892) in 1843. The discovery of Pluto was mathematically predicted by the American astronomer Percival Lowell (1855–1916) in 1905. American astronomer Clyde William Tombaugh (1906–1997) discovered Pluto in 1930.

The new larger and more powerful modern telescopes, some of which have been placed on Earth-orbiting spacecraft, provide more accurate observations of planetary motion. With these instruments, astronomers have determined that the planets’ orbits lie within each other except for those of the outer two planets, Neptune and Pluto. Neptune’s orbit extends farther from the Sun at one end making Neptune, not Pluto, the farthest planet from the Sun for about 20 years. This last happened between January 21, 1979, and March 14, 1999, and will not occur again until September 2226.

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Learning Objective

To determine why Neptune and Pluto do not crash into each other where their orbits overlap.

Materials

12-inch (30-cm) –square piece of poster board

scissors

drawing compass

ruler

pencil

marker

transparent tape

Procedure

1. Fold the piece of poster board in half and cut it along the fold.

2. On one piece of the poster board, use the compass to draw four semicircles with these diameters: 8 inches (20 cm), 7 inches (17.5 cm), 6 inches (15 cm), and 5 inches (12.5 cm).

3. Use the pencil to draw two 1⁄2-inch (1.25-cm) tabs across the bottom of the outer and inner arches (arches 1 and 2) as shown. With the marker, color a narrow band on the outside of arches 1 and 2. Label the tabs and arches.

4. Cut out arches 1 and 2, discarding the arch that separates them.

5. Stand arch 1 across the center of the second piece of poster board by bending the tabs on the arch and taping them to the poster board as shown.

6. Draw a sun on the poster board between the tabs and about 21⁄2 inches (7.5 cm) from the end of tab 1.

7. Stand arch 2 by bending tab 3 and placing it at an angle to arch 1 as shown. Tape tab 3 in place.

8. Bend tab 4 and tape it to the poster board so that it is in line with tab 3.

Results

The two arches overlap but do not touch each other.

Why?

Most of the time Pluto is the farthest planet from the Sun. But at times Neptune’s orbit (represented by arch 2) crosses Pluto’s orbit (arch 1). At those times, one end of Pluto’s orbit (tab 1) is closer to the Sun than is Neptune’s orbit (tab 3), placing Neptune farther from the Sun. Because the orbits of these two planets are at an angle of about 16° to each other and never closer than 240,000,000 miles (384,000,000 km), there is no danger of the planets colliding.

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Try New Approaches

While a circle has one center point, an ellipse (oval shape) has two foci (points in line with each other and on either side of the center point of the ellipse). For a planet, the Sun is located at one focus, and nothing is at the other focus. Draw the shape of a planet’s elliptical orbit by using a pen to mark a dot in the center of a 10-inch (25- cm) –square piece of poster board. Label the dot “Sun” and draw rays around the dot. Draw a second dot 2 inches (5 cm) away from the first dot. Ask an adult to use a pencil to make a hole through each dot on the poster board. Insert a paper brad in each of the holes and secure the brads. Tie the ends of an 8-inch (20- cm) piece of string together to form a loop, then place the loop around the brads. Place the point of the pencil against the inside of the loop, and with the string taut and the pencil’s point against the paper, move the pencil around inside the loop until it is back at the starting point. In a planet’s orbit, the point closest to the Sun is called perihelion and the point farthest from the Sun is called aphelion. (In the figure, as well as in your drawing for this investigation, the orbit drawn is more elongated than any of the planets’ orbits.)

References

Filkin, David. Stephen Hawking’s Universe. New York: Basic Books, 1997. A brief history of the cosmos and other astronomy topics, including planetary motion.

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Moeschl, Richard. Exploring the Sky. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 1993. Projects and information about the discovery and orbits of each planet and other astronomy topics for beginning astronomers.

VanCleave, Janice. Janice VanCleave’s Solar System. New York: Wiley, 2000. Experiments about planetary motion and other solar system topics. Each chapter contains ideas that can be turned into award-winning science fair projects.

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