Barycenter Environmental Science
Name: ______Period: ______Date: ______Essential Question: How is the barycenter affected by the mass of the object? Instructions: Read the selection and answer the questions.
Our solar system consists of the Sun and the many millions of celestial bodies, including large planets and microscopic dust particles, which orbit around it. As a unit, the solar system has a center of mass, its balancing point. At this point, the system would balance like a spinning plate atop a circus performer's balancing stick. This point, called the barycenter, is the exact point about which all the bodies in the solar system orbit. Since the Sun is vastly larger and heavier than all the other bodies combined, the solar system's barycenter is very close to the Sun—but not at the Sun's center. Thus, while all the other solar system bodies seem to orbit the Sun, they, including the Sun, are actually orbiting a point in space just beyond the Sun's outer layer.
Did You Know that the Moon Doesn’t Orbit the Earth?
Orbit means to move in a curved path around another something. In astronomy, celestial bodies are generally described as moving or orbiting some other celestial body. For example, the Moon is said to orbit or revolve around the Earth. The Earth doesn’t stays in position as the Moon circles it.
Just like the planets orbiting the Sun, moons orbiting planets also comprise a system with a center of mass. For the Earth-Moon system, the barycenter is located 1,710 km below the surface of the Earth. This is because the Earth is far more massive than the Moon and it is this common center of mass around which the Earth and the Moon seem to go around. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) does not consider the Earth-Moon system as a double-planet system, since the center of mass does not lie between them but rather within the Earth. A Method to Locate Planets Astronomers are using the concept of the barycenter to locate new planets around stars outside our Solar System. The way this is done is that since a planet and its star orbit a common center and due to the star being more massive, the center of mass is located within the star itself. This actually causes the star to "wobble" in its path and it is this tell-tale signature of wobbling of stars that tells astronomers that a planet is causing the effect. Many extrasolar planets have been located around various stars in our own galaxy making the barycentric approach a useful and practical means of planet hunting. http://www.brighthub.com/science/space/articles/117934.aspx# http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-barycenter.htm http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/barycenter-balancing-point/ R.Angat
Did you read the selection on the first page? If YES! You can answer these questions.
1. What is our solar system made of? ______2. What is the barycenter? ______3. Where is the barycenter of the solar system? ______4. Why is the barycenter of the solar system either inside or very close to the Sun? ______5. Does the moon orbit around earth? Explain. ______6. Does the earth stay in position as the moon revolves around it? Read the whole selection first and then explain your answer. ______7. Where is the barycenter of the earth and the moon? ______8. Why is the barycenter of the earth and the moon found below the surface of earth? ( 1,710 km or 1062.54 miles below the surface of earth) ______9. What does IAU stands for? ______10. Why is the Earth-Moon System not considered as double planet system? ______11. How do astronomers use the concept of barycenter to locate new planets around stars outside our Solar system? ______12. What do wobbling stars tell astronomers? ______
R.Angat