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You have discovered the period for a planet is 45 days. How far is it from its star, which has a mass of 3.7 solar masses (Ms)?
Days to Years:
45 days to years
(45 days) / (365 days/year) = 0.123 years
Period to Distance:
distance = (period x star mass) 1/3
distance = ((0.123 years) x 3.7 Ms) /3
distance = (0.0151 years® x 3.7 Ms)13
distance = (0.0559)1/au
distance = 0.383 au . . How should this formula be entered in a spreadsheet if the first orbital period input value is in column A, row 2 and the first star mass value is in column B, row 2?
distance = (period^2 x star mass) ⅓



Answer :

Answer:

To correctly compute the distance in a spreadsheet with the given information, you can use the following formula:

1. **Convert Period from Days to Years**:

- Assuming the period in days is in cell A2, you convert it to years with the formula:

```

=A2 / 365

```

2. **Calculate the Distance Using Kepler's Third Law Adaptation**:

- For the distance calculation based on the provided period (in years) and star mass (in solar masses), you would use:

```

=((A2 / 365) ^ 2 * B2) ^ (1/3)

```

This formula will calculate the distance in astronomical units (au).

Here's how it works:

- `A2 / 365` converts the period from days to years.

- `(A2 / 365) ^ 2` squares the period in years.

- `* B2` multiplies the squared period by the star's mass in solar masses.

- `((A2 / 365) ^ 2 * B2) ^ (1/3)` takes the cube root of the product to get the distance.

So, you can enter the formula in a spreadsheet cell (for example, in C2) as:

```

=(((A2 / 365) ^ 2) * B2) ^ (1/3)

```

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