- Planet 1 Has Mass M And Radius R Planet 2 Has Mass M And Radius R2 The Two Planets Are A Distance Of L Apart Measu 1 (41.35 KiB) Viewed 56 times
Planet 1 has mass M₁ and radius R₁. Planet 2 has mass M₂ and radius R2. The two planets are a distance of L apart, measured from surface to surface. An object is launched with some initial speed from the surface of Planet 1 directly towards Planet 2. For this problem, assume that Planets 1 and 2 are stationary. (20 points) (a) At what initial speed must the object be launched so that it reaches the surface of Planet 2 with zero speed? (b) Derive an inequality between M₁ and M₂ that represents when (a) can occur. (c) Show that, using your result in (b), if R₁ = R2, then M₁ must be greater than M₂.