The Mariner 10 Spacecraft Was Placed in an Elliptical Orbit

question 272

Multiple Choice

The Mariner 10 spacecraft was placed in an elliptical orbit around the Sun,with the period of its orbit twice that of the period of Mercury's orbit.What is the length of the semimajor axis of Mariner 10's orbit? (Be careful with units,and review Kepler's laws,Section 2-5,Comins,Discovering the Essential Universe,6th ed.)

• A) 0.48 AU
• B) 0.61 AU
• C) 0.39 AU
• D) 0.0125 AU

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