An astronaut in a spacecraft looks out her window and observes a comet travel in the opposite direction at a relative speed of 237 m/s. The velocity of the spacecraft is 114 m/s directly away from the sun. What is the comet's velocity relative to the sun? Assume that motion away from the sun is in the positive direction.
Just like the balloon A and B problem. I will be happy to review your results.
To find the comet's velocity relative to the sun, we need to consider the velocity of the spacecraft.
Given:
Velocity of the spacecraft (Vsc) = 114 m/s away from the sun
Relative velocity of the comet with respect to the spacecraft (Vcomet) = 237 m/s in the opposite direction
To calculate the comet's velocity relative to the sun (Vcomet_sun), we can use the concept of relative motion:
Vcomet_sun = Vcomet + Vsc
Substituting the given values:
Vcomet_sun = -237 m/s + 114 m/s
Simplifying the equation:
Vcomet_sun = -123 m/s
Therefore, the comet's velocity relative to the sun is -123 m/s, which means it is moving in the opposite direction of the spacecraft's velocity, away from the sun.