Foundations of Astronomy (MindTap Course List)
14th Edition
ISBN: 9781337399920
Author: Michael A. Seeds, Dana Backman
Publisher: Cengage Learning
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Textbook Question
Chapter 24, Problem 28RQ
Why do most short-period comets have prograde orbits near the plane of the Solar System?
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Which of the following about comets is TRUE?
a. Cometary orbits always lie close to the ecliptic plane
b. Long period comets must originate from well beyond even the Kuiper Belt
c. The Oort cloud is the large cloud of gas surrounding a comet nucleus while it is near the Sun
d. Tails of comets always lie along the path of the orbit
When far from the Sun, a comet consists only of its
a. nucleus
b. dust tail
c. gas tail
d. coma
Suppose 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? Explain
Chapter 24 Solutions
Foundations of Astronomy (MindTap Course List)
Ch. 24 - What is the difference between a meteoroid and an...Ch. 24 - What do Widmansttten patterns indicate about the...Ch. 24 - Why is it possible to acquire Moon rocks by...Ch. 24 - Prob. 4RQCh. 24 - Prob. 5RQCh. 24 - Prob. 6RQCh. 24 - Why do astronomers refer to carbonaceous...Ch. 24 - Prob. 8RQCh. 24 - Prob. 9RQCh. 24 - Of all the meteorites shown in Figure 24-2, which...
Ch. 24 - Meteorites were once part of which type of...Ch. 24 - Most sporadic meteors were once part of which...Ch. 24 - Meteors in showers were once part of which type of...Ch. 24 - Prob. 14RQCh. 24 - Prob. 15RQCh. 24 - Why do astronomers conclude that asteroids were...Ch. 24 - A fragment from the surface of a differentiated...Ch. 24 - What evidence indicates that the asteroids are...Ch. 24 - Prob. 19RQCh. 24 - Prob. 20RQCh. 24 - What evidence indicates that some asteroids once...Ch. 24 - How is the composition of meteorites related to...Ch. 24 - Prob. 23RQCh. 24 - Prob. 24RQCh. 24 - What is the difference between a centaur and a...Ch. 24 - What is the difference between a comets dust tail...Ch. 24 - What evidence indicates that a comets nucleus is...Ch. 24 - Why do most short-period comets have prograde...Ch. 24 - What are possible fates (or end-states) for...Ch. 24 - What are the hypotheses for how the bodies in the...Ch. 24 - Prob. 31RQCh. 24 - How would studying the chemical composition of...Ch. 24 - Assuming a night lasts 12 hours, how many total...Ch. 24 - Prob. 2PCh. 24 - If a single asteroid 1 km in diameter were to...Ch. 24 - If a trillion (1012) asteroids, each 1 km in...Ch. 24 - Prob. 5PCh. 24 - The asteroid Vesta has a mass of 2.6 1020 kg and...Ch. 24 - Prob. 7PCh. 24 - What is the maximum angular diameter of the dwarf...Ch. 24 - At what average distances from the Sun would you...Ch. 24 - Prob. 10PCh. 24 - If the velocity of the solar wind is about 4.0 ...Ch. 24 - What is the average distance of Comet Halley from...Ch. 24 - If you saw Comet Halley when the comet was 0.7 AU...Ch. 24 - What is the orbital period of a comet nucleus at...Ch. 24 - The mass of an average comets nucleus is about 1.0...Ch. 24 - Prob. 16PCh. 24 - Prob. 1SOPCh. 24 - Earth orbits 1 AU from the Sun, and the Oort cloud...Ch. 24 - Look at Figure 24-2d. Identify the chondrules by...Ch. 24 - Prob. 2LTLCh. 24 - Prob. 3LTLCh. 24 - Look at the images of Comet Mrkos on the left page...Ch. 24 - Prob. 5LTLCh. 24 - Prob. 6LTLCh. 24 - Prob. 7LTL
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- In addition to the ones mentioned in Exercise 13.3, what is the third, rarer class of asteroids?arrow_forwardIf the Oort cloud contains 1012 comets, and ten new comets are discovered coming close to the Sun each year, what percentage of the comets have been “used up” since the beginning of the solar system?arrow_forwardDescribe the nucleus of a typical comet and compare it with an asteroid of similar size.arrow_forward
- Who first calculated the orbits of comets based on historical records dating back to antiquity?arrow_forwardWhy is the composition of a comet typically dominated by volatile materials (frozen ices)? choose one of the following: a. rock and metal could not condense out of the solar nebula at extreme distances from the sun b. most of the metal in the solar system is locked up inside the terrestrial planets c. metals are not stable in the outer solar system d. elements that form ices (as opposed to rock & metals) are more abundant in our solar systemarrow_forwardWhy do meteors in a meteor shower appear to come from just one point in the sky?arrow_forward
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