Solved

Comets Have Highly Eccentric Orbits,with Eccentricities of 0

Question 22

Essay

Comets have highly eccentric orbits,with eccentricities of 0.95−0.99 being common.Suppose a certain comet has an eccentricity of 0.99.If the semimajor axis of its orbit is 2,500 AU,what will be its distance at perihelion and at aphelion? Is this most likely a Kuiper Belt object or an Oort Cloud comet? (Note: For an ellipse,a(1 + e)is the distance from one focus to the farther edge of the long axis and a(1 − e)is the distance from the same focus to the closer edge of the long axis. )

Correct Answer:

verifed

Verified

Aphelion is the point of farthest approa...

View Answer

Unlock this answer now
Get Access to more Verified Answers free of charge

Related Questions