Question

Which event helped astronomers calculate the mass of Pluto correctly?

O studying Pluto's gravitational force on Charon
O the discovery Kuiper Belt
O Xena and Gabriella changing their names
O Voyager 2's exploration of Neptune

Answer 1

O studying Pluto's gravitational force on Charon.

Pluto and its moon Charon are in a binary system, meaning they both exert gravitational forces on each other. By studying the effects of Pluto's gravitational pull on Charon and vice versa, astronomers were able to accurately calculate their masses.

This knowledge also led to the discovery of Pluto's other moons, including the smaller ones such as Nix, Hydra, and Kerberos.

It's worth noting that the discovery of the Kuiper Belt and the exploration of Neptune by Voyager 2 did also contribute to our understanding of the solar system as a whole, including Pluto's place within it. However, the key event that helped to accurately calculate Pluto's mass was studying its gravitational force on Charon

Answer 2

studying Pluto's gravitational force on Charon

Step-by-step explanation:

discovery showed :

moon Charon is relatively large compared to Pluto =

Pluto and Charon form a

binary system =

barycenter =

both objects orbit around a point in space where the

gravitational forces between them balance out =

common center of mass

common center of mass is not located at the center of Pluto

common center of mass is in the space between the two bodies

common center of mass is closer to the center of mass of Charon

scientists were able to determine that Pluto was much less massive than previously thought

astronomers measured their orbits &

how they interacted with each other

astronomers got the mass of Pluto with more accuracy

chatgpt