An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics · Problem 2.12

The Continuous Spectrum of Light — Carroll & Ostlie

Physics — Astrophysics · keplers-third-law-galilean-moons

Problem

Verify that Kepler's third law in the form of Eq. (2.37) applies to the four moons that Galileo discovered orbiting Jupiter (the Galilean moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto). (a) Using the data available in Appendix C, create a graph of log⁡10P\log_{10} P vs. log⁡10a\log_{10} a. (b) From the graph, show that the slope of the best-fit straight line through the data is 3/23/2. (c) Calculate the mass of Jupiter from the value of the yy-intercept.

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