How a dip in starlight reveals an exoplanet’s size
Infer a planet-to-star radius ratio from a transit light curve, compare Earth and Jupiter signals, and explore why grazing transits need more care.
Infer a planet-to-star radius ratio from a transit light curve, compare Earth and Jupiter signals, and explore why grazing transits need more care.
Understand the five rotating-frame equilibrium points, why L1 and L2 need station keeping, and what makes L4 and L5 different.
Explore 2:1 and 3:2 orbital rhythms, calculate radius ratios with Kepler’s law, and learn why a simple period match does not prove dynamical resonance.
Follow a density-based worked example of the Roche limit, then test when an icy or rocky moon crosses a tidal-disruption boundary.
Estimate main-sequence lifetimes from mass and luminosity, read an H–R diagram, and distinguish schematic evolution paths from detailed stellar predictions.
Compare escape velocity with a thermal gas distribution, and learn why a fast molecular tail does not directly give an atmospheric lifetime.