Astronomy
1st Edition
ISBN: 9781938168284
Author: Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. Wolff
Publisher: OpenStax
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Textbook Question
Chapter 13, Problem 18E
Suppose a comet were discovered approaching the Sun, one whose orbit would cause it to collide with Earth 20 months later, after perihelion passage. (This is approximately the situation described in the science-fiction novel Lucifer’s Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.) What could we do? Would there be any way to protect ourselves from a catastrophe?
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A comet has a period of 75.3 years and moves in an elliptical orbit in which its perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) is 0.640 AU. Find the semimajor axis of the comet and an estimate of the comet's maximum distance from the Sun, both in astronomical units.
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Chapter 13 Solutions
Astronomy
Ch. 13 - Why are asteroids and comets important to our...Ch. 13 - Give a brief description of the asteroid belt.Ch. 13 - Describe the main differences between C-type and...Ch. 13 - In addition to the ones mentioned in Exercise...Ch. 13 - Vesta is unusual as it contains what mineral on...Ch. 13 - Compare asteroids of the asteroid belt with...Ch. 13 - Briefly describe NASA’s Spaceguard Survey. How...Ch. 13 - Who first calculated the orbits of comets based on...Ch. 13 - Describe the nucleus of a typical comet and...Ch. 13 - Describe the two types of comet tails and how each...
Ch. 13 - What classification is given to objects such as...Ch. 13 - Describe the origin and eventual fate of the...Ch. 13 - What evidence do we have for the existence of the...Ch. 13 - Give brief descriptions of both the Kuiper belt...Ch. 13 - Give at least two reasons today’s astronomers are...Ch. 13 - Suppose you were designing a spacecraft that would...Ch. 13 - Suppose you were designing a spacecraft that would...Ch. 13 - Suppose a comet were discovered approaching the...Ch. 13 - We believe that chains of comet fragments like...Ch. 13 - Why have we found so many objects in the Kuiper...Ch. 13 - Why is it hard to give exact diameters for even...Ch. 13 - Refer to Example 13.1. How would the calculation...Ch. 13 - Refer to Example 13.1. How would the calculation...Ch. 13 - The calculation in Example 13.1 refers to the...Ch. 13 - If the Oort cloud contains 1012 comets, and ten...Ch. 13 - The mass of the asteroids is found mostly in the...Ch. 13 - Make a similar estimate for the mass of the Kuiper...Ch. 13 - What is the period of revolution about the Sun for...Ch. 13 - What is the period of revolution for a comet with...
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Need a deep-dive on the concept behind this application? Look no further. Learn more about this topic, physics and related others by exploring similar questions and additional content below.Similar questions
- How do the risks of dying from the impact of an asteroid or comet compare with other risks we are concerned about, such as dying in a car accident or from heart disease or some other natural cause? (Hint: To find the annual risk, go to the library or internet and look up the annual number of deaths from a particular cause in a particular country, and then divide by the population of that country.)arrow_forwardOne of the brightest comets of the 20th century was Comet Hyakutake, which passed close to the sun in early 1996. The orbital period of this comet is estimated to be about 30,000 years. Find the semimajor axis of this comet’s orbit. Compare it to the average sun–Pluto distance and to the distance to Alpha Centauri, the nearest star to the sun, which is 4.3 light-years distant.arrow_forwardWhat kind of molecules have been found on extraterrestrial meteors ?arrow_forward
- The perihelion of the comet Legerkvist is 2.61 AU and it has a period of 7.36 years. Show that the aphelion for this comet is 4.95 AU.arrow_forwardWho first calculated the orbits of comets based on historical records dating back to antiquity?arrow_forwardWhich meteorites are the most useful for defining the age of the solar system? Why?arrow_forward
- A comet has a period of 76.3 years and moves in an elliptical orbit in which its perihelion (Closest approach to the Sun) is 0.610 AU. Find (a) the semimajor axis of the comet and (b) an estimate of the comets maximum distance from the Sun, both in astronomical units.arrow_forwardThe calculation in Example 13.1 refers to the known Oort cloud, the source for most of the comets we see. If, as some astronomers suspect, there are 10 times this many cometary objects in the solar system, how does the total mass of cometary matter compare with the mass of Jupiter?arrow_forwardA comet's appearance when it is distant from the Sun might be described as "hazy." As it nears the Sun, how does its appearance change?arrow_forward
- You observe a comet 0.46 AU from Earth with a tail that is 1.7 degrees long. How long is the tail in AU? How long is the tail in kilometers? How many times could the U.S. fit along the length of the tail? (The width of the U.S. is 4,313 km.)arrow_forwardA 1.029 km diameter asteroid will make a crater about 10 km in diameter. Let the asteroid have a density of 3000 kg/m3 and impact the surface at 19km/sec. Assuming a spherical asteroid, what is the kinetic energy (in joule) of the asteroid ? Convert the answer to megatons of TNT, where 1 Megaton is about 4x1015 joule l. For comparison, the most energentic weapon in the human arsenal is about 100 megatonsarrow_forwardSuppose we have two comets with the following orbital parameters: Comet 1: Eccentricity = 0.1, Semi-major axis = 0.5 AU Comet 2: Eccentricity = 0.9, Semi-major axis = 0.5 AU Would these two comets have the same orbital period? Explainarrow_forward
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