Tycho made angular measurements with an accuracy of one arcminute. If Mars takes 2.136 years to complete one orbit of the Sun as viewed from Earth (a synodic period), how long on the average does it take Mars to move through one arcminute?
A) 1 second
B) a little less than 1 hour
C) about a day and a half
D) 17 days

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Mars completes one orbit in 2.136 years, which is equivalent to 2.136 * 365.25 = 779.914 days (considering a year as 365.25 days to account for leap years). Since there are 360 degrees in a circle and each degree has 60 arcminutes, the total number of arcminutes in a full orbit is 360 * 60 = 21600 arcminutes. Therefore, the time it takes Mars to move through one arcminute on average is 779.914 days / 21600 arcminutes = 0.0361 days per arcminute, which is approximately 0.0361 * 24 hours = 0.8664 hours, or a little less than 1 hour.

Tycho Made Angular Measurements with an Accuracy of One Arcminute