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Titius-Bode Law: Mercury
| Mercury |
| Orbital characteristics |
| Mean radius |
57,910,000 km |
| Eccentricity |
0.2056 |
| Orbital period |
87d
23.3h |
| Synodic period |
115.88
days |
| Avg. Orbital Speed |
47.9
km/s |
| Inclination |
7.004° |
| Number of satellites |
0 |
| Physical characteristics |
| Equatorial diameter |
4879.4
km |
| Surface area |
7.5*
107km2 |
| Mass |
3.303*1023 kg |
| Mean density |
5.43
g/cm3 |
| Surface gravity |
2.78
m/s2 |
| Rotation period |
58d
15.5088h |
| Axial tilt |
0° |
| Albedo |
0.10 |
| Escape Speed |
4.3
km/s |
| Avg. Surface temp.: Day |
623
K |
| Avg.
Surface temp.: Night |
103
K |
| Surface temp. |
| min |
mean |
max |
| 90K |
452K |
700K | |
| Atmospheric characteristics |
| Atmospheric pressure |
trace |
| Potassium |
31.7% |
| Sodium |
24.9% |
| Atomic
Oxygen |
9.5% |
| Argon |
7.0% |
| Helium |
5.9% |
| Molecular Oxygen |
5.6% |
| Nitrogen |
5.2% |
| Carbon
dioxide |
3.6% |
| Water |
3.4% |
| Hydrogen |
3.2% |
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The nearest major planet to the Sun and the
smallest of the terrestrial planets. Telescopic observation of
Mercury from the Earth is very difficult, partly because of
its small size and partly because it can never be more than
28° from the Sun on the celestial sphere since its orbit lies
well inside the Earth's. For the same reason, Mercury (like
Venus, the other inferior planet) exhibits a cycle of phases,
similar to those of the Moon. Hardly any surface detail can be
discerned and very little was known about the planet until the
flybys of Mariner 10 in 1974 and 1975. The space probe was put
in an orbit around the Sun such that it encountered Mercury
three times before it ran out of attitude-control gas. The
images returned have allowed about 35 per cent of the surface
of Mercury to be mapped. Ancient, heavily cratered terrain
accounts for 70 per cent of the area surveyed. The most
significant single feature is the Caloris Basin, a huge impact
crater with a diameter of 1,300 kilometres - a quarter the
diameter of the planet. The basin has been filled by a
relatively smooth plain, and terrain of the same type covers
parts of the ejecta blanket. The impact took place 3,800
million years ago and produced a temporary revival of the
volcanic activity that had mostly ceased 100 million years
earlier, creating the smoother areas inside and around the
basin. At the point on Mercury diametrically opposite the
impact site, there is curious chaotic terrain that must have
been created by the shock wave. Characteristic features found
on Mercury are lobate scarps (rupes), which take the form of
cliffs between a few hundred and 3,000 metres high, believed
to
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have formed when the planetary crust shrank as it
cooled. In places they cut across craters. The planet's rotation
period is such that a "day" on Mercury lasts two "years". This leads
to immense temperature contrasts: at perihelion, the subsolar point
reaches 430°C; the night-time temperature plunges to -170°C. The
high daytime temperatures and the small mass of the planet make it
impossible for an atmosphere to be retained. The small amounts of
helium detected may be the product of radioactive decay of surface
rocks or have been captured from the solar wind. The average density
of Mercury is only slightly less than that of the Earth. Taking
account of its smaller size and lower interior pressure leads to the
conclusion that Mercury has a substantial iron core accounting for
70 per cent of its mass and 75 per cent of its total diameter. There
is also a magnetic field of about 1 per cent the strength of the
Earth's field, providing further evidence for the metallic core.
The original Rasko Jovanovic`s formulation of the "
Titius-Bode Law " is now available. This formulation is that the
mean distance R(k) of the planet from the Sun is :
where k = 1-Mercury, 2- Venus, 3- Earth, 4- Mars, 5-
Planet V, 6- Jupiter, 7- Saturn, 8- Uranus, and 9 -
Pluto;
AUN=1= 57.91 * 106 km;
M is 1
(Mercury, Venus and Earth), 2 (Mars, Planet V and Jupiter) and 3 (
Saturn, Uranus and Pluto).
R(N=1)=1*bin(1) + 1+1
-(1/2)*[1+Ln(1+(1/2))] =1.2973;
N is the number of the
"Titius - Bode Law " version :
we assume N=1 in version of the
planet-Mercury and the mean distance R(k) of the planet(k) from the
Sun is:
Here are the distances of planets calculated from this rule and
compared with real ones:
| Planet |
k |
bin(k) |
T-B rule distance*106
km |
Real distance*106
km |
| Mercury |
1 |
0 |
57.910 |
57.91 |
| Venus |
2 |
1 |
105.234 |
108.208 |
| Earth |
3 |
2 |
151.338 |
149.597 |
| Mars |
4 |
4 |
241.575 |
227.940 |
| Planet V |
5 |
8 |
420.857 |
- |
| Jupiter |
6 |
16 |
778.622 |
778.33 |
| Saturn |
7 |
32 |
1493.584 |
1429.4 |
| Uranus |
8 |
64 |
2923.081 |
2870.99 |
| Neptune |
9 |
96 |
4352.524 |
4504.3 |
| Pluto |
9 |
128 |
5804.076 |
5913.52 |
THE PROBABLE
LOCATION OF THE PLANET X
The orbit of Pluto have some
unregularities, what induces some astronomers to belive in the
existence of a 10th planet of the Solar System. In accordance to the
Bode's Law, was working out a calculation for location the probable
position of the supposed 10th planet.
R(10)={1*256+ 1+1
-(1/2)[1+(1+Ln(1/11)]}*(57.91/1.2973) *106 km
PLANET
X
The probable distance of the average orbit: 11498.808 *
106 km.
See, also
:
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