Suppose the Earth were somehow shifted to a new circular orbit about the Sun in which…
PHYSICS · Subjective · A Level · Physics · Fields and their consequences · Fields and their consequences
Problem
Suppose the Earth were somehow shifted to a new circular orbit about the Sun in which it took 500days (of present length) to complete one revolution.
(a) Calculate the new orbital radius of the Earth expressed in astronomical units (AU). Take the present orbital period as 365days and the present mean orbital radius as 1AU.
(b) Assuming that the average solar energy flux incident on a planet varies inversely with the square of its distance from the Sun, determine the percentage decrease in the solar energy received per unit area at the Earth’s new position compared with its present value.