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Question

How to calculate the mass of the sun?


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Solution

Step 1: Kepler’s third law

According to Newton’s form of Kepler’s third law, the orbital period of a celestial body is given as,

p2=4π2GMa3

Where, p is the orbital period,
G is the gravitation constant,
M is the mass of the Sun,
a is the orbit semi-major axis distance.

Upon rearranging the equation we get,

M=4π2a3GM

Step 2: Calculate the Mass

Now for planet Earth:

a=1.496×1011m

p=3.154×107s

G=6.67×10-11m3kg-1s-2

Upon substituting the values we get,

M=4×3.142×1.496×10116.67×10-11×3.154×107

=1.99×1030kg

Hence, the mass of the sun is 1.99×1030kg.


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