Author Question: Describe the process of precession. What will be an ideal ... (Read 53 times)

imowrer · **on:** Jul 27, 2018

Describe the process of precession.

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Explain why it is difficult to see Mercury in the night sky.

What will be an ideal response?

pami445 · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 27, 2018

Answer to Question 1

If you have ever played with a gyroscope or top, you have seen how the spinning mass resists any sudden change in the direction of its axis of rotation. The more massive the top and the more rapidly it spins, the more it resists your efforts to twist it out of position. You may recall that even the most rapidly spinning top slowly swings its axis around in a circle. The weight of the top tends to make it tip over, and this combines with its rapid rotation to make its axis sweep out the shape of a cone. That motion is precession.

Answer to Question 2

Mercury stays near the ecliptic because it has an orbit inside Earth's orbit. To find Mercury, you need to look above the western horizon just after sunset or above the eastern horizon just before sunrise. However, Mercury is hard to see against the glare of the sky near the Sun, and also it is often hidden in the clouds and haze near the horizon.