How do we know that there can only be insignificant amounts of dark matter in our solar system?

What will be an ideal response?


We can measure the distribution of mass in the solar system through analysis of its rotation curve, i.e. the velocity at which planets at different distances from the Sun rotate, in an analogous way to the rotation curves of galaxies. Since the rotation curve of the solar system decreases with increasing distance in the same way that we would predict for a central mass (the Sun), we infer that there are no "hidden" sources of gravitational mass in the solar system. Dark matter must be distributed over much larger scales.

Physics & Space Science

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Nebular theory predicts that other solar systems that formed in the same way should also have 8 planets

Indicate whether the statement is true or false

Physics & Space Science

The astronomical object in our sky which plays the most fundamental role in our lives is the

A) Sun B) Moon C) nearest star D) most massive planet in our solar system, Jupiter

Physics & Space Science

The current definition of the standard second of time is based on

A) the frequency of radiation emitted by cesium atoms. B) the earth's rotation rate. C) the duration of one year. D) the oscillation of a particular pendulum kept in France.

Physics & Space Science

According to current science, why didn't oxygen begin to accumulate in the atmosphere for more than a billion years after life appeared on the Earth?

A) Early forms of animal life consumed the oxygen released by plants during the first billion years of life on Earth. B) Early life did not release oxygen, and oxygen releasing organisms didn't evolve for a billion years after the earliest life. C) Oxygen was removed from the atmosphere by dissolving in the ocean as quickly as it was released by life. D) Oxygen was removed from the atmosphere by chemical reactions with surface rocks as quickly as it was released by life.

Physics & Space Science