Question

1. Earth Transit Calculate the maximum possible duration of transit of the Earth along the disk of the Sun in the case of observations from the surface of Mars. Assume that the orbits of the planets lie in the plane of the ecliptic; the Earth's orbit is circular. (Hint: The longest transit time of the Earth on the Sun's disk⇒ Mars is in perihelion, and the Earth is in lower contact with the Sun (at this time the Sun's disk has the largest angular size in the Martian sky, and the relative angular velocity of the Earth and Mars is minimal, since Mars and the Earth rotate in orbits in one direction). You may need - Distance of Earth from Sun Distance of Mars from Sun Eccentricity of Mars/Earth Orbit

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the maximum possible duration of the Earth's transit along the disk of the Sun as observed from the surface of Mars, we can use the following information:

Distance of Earth from the Sun: This value is approximately 149.6 million kilometers.

Distance of Mars from the Sun: This value varies due to the elliptical orbit of Mars, but on average it is approximately 227.9 million kilometers.

Eccentricity of Mars/Earth Orbit: The eccentricity of Mars' orbit is approximately 0.0934, while the Earth's orbit is nearly circular with an eccentricity close to 0.

To determine the maximum transit duration, we need to consider the relative angular velocity of Earth and Mars and the angular size of the Sun's disk in the Martian sky.

Given that the Earth is in perihelion and in lower contact with the Sun (which corresponds to the maximum angular size of the Sun's disk in the Martian sky), the relative angular velocity of Earth and Mars will be minimal.

Using the formula:

Transit duration = Angular size of the Sun's disk / Relative angular velocity of Earth and Mars

We can estimate the maximum transit duration. However, precise calculations require detailed values for the angular size and relative angular velocity, which are not provided in the question.

Please note that without specific values for the angular size and relative angular velocity, it is not possible to calculate the exact maximum transit duration.