[meteorite-list] mercury escape numbers? can it be this?

[Walter Branch]

Hi Rex,

Escape velocity depends on the mass of the planet, not it's orbital parameters.

Maybe I don't understand your question.  Is this what you are asking?

-Walter

Not everything that can be counted, counts and not everything that counts can be counted.  -A. Einstein.

On Aug 5, 2011, at 12:04 PM, rexscates at comcast.net wrote:

> I don't post much.
> I did not do the math. (my calculus has not been used much for many many years.
> 
> would not if you had a highly highly elliptical orbit not have to have the full sun escape velocity as it could do the whip around gravitational boost effect from the sun.
> 
> also would a highly elliptical orbit have less of a escape velocity?
> the second part could be wrong but the first one is always a possibility. (at least in my mind) :)
> 
> -Rex Scates
> 
> scalecubes.com
> 
> 
> 
> "But what about Mercury. Mercury's escape velocity is 4.3 km/s. But 
>> it's downstream from Earth and the Sun is a huge gravitational drain 
>> plug that devours material. If you think Earth gets a piece of Mars, 
>> imagine what the Sun gets from Mercury. To escape the Sun ... that is 
>> to go upstream towards Earth, at Mercury, any fragment would have to 
>> battle an escape velocity of 67.7 km/s. That's greater than Jupiter ! 
>> You might say ... ok, you don't have to actually escape the Sun, only 
>> make it from Mercury to Earth. Well, at Earth, the escape velocity is 
>> 42 km/s from the Sun. That's a loss of 25 km/s ... and don't forget 
>> the extra 4.3 km/s to get away from Mercury as well ..."
>> 
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