A space probe of mass passes the center of a small spherical asteroid of mass at a…
PHYSICS · Multi-part · A Level · Physics · Fields and their consequences · Fields and their consequences
Problem
A space probe of mass 750kg passes the center of a small spherical asteroid of mass 4.2×1015kg at a center-to-center separation of 25km. Take the universal gravitational constant to be G=6.67×10−11N⋅m2/kg2.
(a) Calculate the magnitude of the gravitational force exerted on the probe by the asteroid.
(b) Determine the magnitude of the probe’s acceleration toward the asteroid at that instant.