You Guide Your Spacecraft into an Orbit a Few AU

question 255

Multiple Choice

You guide your spacecraft into an orbit a few AU from a black hole.You know it is 4 or 5 solar masses,but you want to measure it more precisely.How would you do so?

• A) The mass of a black hole cannot be determined precisely because it is impossible to see beyond the event horizon, so your estimate of 4 or 5 solar masses is as good a value as you can hope for.
• B) You can measure the period and the semimajor axis of your orbit and then use Newton's form of Kepler's third law.
• C) You cannot use Newton's form of Kepler's third law. Because of general relativity, you must use a relativistic form of Kepler's third law.
• D) You must move in toward the black hole and mark the distance as you cross the event horizon. From this distance, the mass can be calculated.

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