Rumbaua, Kyra P.

AST TECH 8

1. Methods used to measure the distance of Earth from the Sun

Summary:

 Geometric Methods (such as Parallax)

 Radar

What we actually measure is the distance from the Earth to some other body, such as
Venus. Then we use what we know about the relations between interplanetary distances
to scale that to the Earth-Sun distance. Since 1961, we have been able to use radar to
measure interplanetary distances - we transmit a radar signal at another planet
(or moon or asteroid) and measure how long it takes for the radar echo to return. Before
radar, astronomers had to rely on other (less direct) geometric methods.

The first known person to use geometry to estimate the Earth-Sun distance was
Aristarchus (c. 310-230 BC), in ancient Greece. He measured the angular separation of
the Sun and the Moon when the Moon was half-illuminated to derive the distance
between Earth and Sun in terms of the distance between the Earth and the Moon. His
reasoning was correct, but his measurements were not. Aristarchus calculated that the
Sun is about nineteen times farther than the Moon; it is actually about 390 times farther
than the Moon.

The first rigorous and accurate scientific measurement of the Earth-Sun distance was
made by Cassini in 1672 by parallax measurements of Mars. He and another astronomer
observed Mars from two places simultaneously. A century later, a series of observations
of transits of Venus provided an even better estimate.

Since 1961, the distance to Venus can be determined directly, by radar measurements,
where a series of radio waves is transmitted from Earth and is received after it bounces
off Venus and comes back to Earth. By measuring the time taken for the radar echo to
come back, the distance can be calculated, since radio waves travel at the speed of light.
Once this Earth-Venus distance is known, the distance between Earth and the Sun can be
calculated.
2. What is the diameter of the Earth

The diameter of the Earth at the equator is about 43 kilometers (27 mi) larger than the pole-
to-pole diameter. As a result, the latest measurements indicate that the Earth has an
equatorial diameter of 12,756 km (7926 mi), and a polar diameter of 12713.6 km (7899.86
mi).

3. What is the diameter of the Sun?

The sun is nearly a perfect sphere. Its equatorial diameter and its polar diameter differ by only
6.2 miles (10 km). The mean radius of the sun is 432,450 miles (696,000 kilometers), which
makes its diameter about 864,938 miles (1.392 million km). You could line up 109 Earths across
the face of the sun. The sun's circumference is about 2,713,406 miles (4,366,813 km).

4. How many planets do we have? Name it.

We have 8 planets in our Solar System.

They are:

1. Mercury
2. Venus
3. Earth
4. Mars
5. Jupiter
6. Saturn
7. Uranus
8. Neptune