Pluto moves in a fairly elliptical orbit around the sun. Pluto’s speed at its closest approach of 4.43×109km is 6.12 km/s. What is Pluto’s speed at the most distant point in its orbit, where it is7.30×109km from the sun?

Short Answer

Expert verified

The Pluto's speed at the most distant point in its orbit is3.71km/s.

Step by step solution

01

Step 1. Given information

Here,

r1=closestdistance=4.43×109kmv1=speedatclosestdistance=6.12km/sr2=farthestdistance=7.30×109kmv2=?
02

Step 2. Formula used

Angular momentum, L=mvr

where,

m=mass of planet

r=distance from sun

v=speed of planet

03

Step 3. Calculation

As angular momentum should remain constant.

mv1r1=mv2r2⇒v2=v1r1/r2v2=4.43×109×6.127.30×109km/sv2=3.71km/s

04

Step 4. Conclusion

The speed of pluto at most distant point is 3.71km/s.

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