Unit 2 Stability of the Solar System

What is the approximate chance of catastrophic events like planetary collisions or ejections in the Solar System over the next few billion years?

• 1%

• 10%

• 0.1%

• 5%

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Understanding

Which planet is most likely to experience instability due to its orbit potentially falling into resonance with Jupiter?

• Mercury

• Venus

• Earth

• Mars

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Understanding

What is the term used to describe the time limit beyond which planetary positions cannot be accurately predicted?

• Lyapunov time

• Hubble time

• Kepler time

• Einstein time

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What role does Einstein's theory of general relativity play in the Solar System's stability?

• It reduces the likelihood of Mercury's orbit becoming unstable.

• It increases the eccentricity of planetary orbits.

• It predicts planetary collisions.

• It prevents stellar flybys.

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Understanding

Which recent research institution highlighted the role of 'quasi-conserved quantities' in maintaining the Solar System's stability?

• Paris Observatory

• NASA

• European Space Agency

• Harvard University

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Understanding

What is the approximate Lyapunov time for predicting planetary positions?

• 10 to 100 million years

• 1 to 10 million years

• 100 to 200 million years

• 5 to 50 million years

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Applying

What could happen to Mercury's orbit if it falls into resonance with Jupiter?

• Its eccentricity could increase, crossing the orbit of Venus or Earth.

• It could collide with Mars.

• It could stabilize permanently.

• It could move closer to the Sun.

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What is the potential impact of stellar flybys on the Solar System?

• They can disrupt the Oort cloud or perturb the orbits of outer planets.

• They can cause the Sun to expand prematurely.

• They can stabilize planetary orbits.

• They can increase Mercury's eccentricity.

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What will likely happen to the inner planets when the Sun expands into a red giant?

• They will be consumed by the Sun.

• They will move further away from the Sun.

• They will collide with each other.

• They will stabilize their orbits.

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Applying

What acts as a safety net to prevent planetary orbits from wandering too far?

• Quasi-conserved quantities and hidden symmetries

• Gravitational kicks

• Stellar flybys

• Solar evolution

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Applying