Asteroid Ida was photographed by the Galileo spacecraft in 1993, and the photograph revealed that the asteroid has a moon, which has been named Dactyl. From the dimensions of Ida and its general features, one can estimate the mass of Ida to be 4.5 × 10¹⁶ kg, and the distance between Dactyl and Ida is approximately 90 km. Assuming a circular orbit, what would be the orbital speed of Dactyl? G = 6.67 x 10^-11 N·m²/kg².

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The orbital speed of Dactyl can be calculated using the formula v = sqrt(GM/r), where G is the gravitational constant, M is the mass of Ida, and r is the distance between Dactyl and Ida. Plugging in the given values, we get v = sqrt((6.67 x 10^-11 N·m^2/kg^2) * (4.5 x 10^16 kg) / (90 km * 1000 m/km)) = 5.8 m/s.

Asteroid Ida Was Photographed by the Galileo Spacecraft in 1993