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 12P
What is the average distance of Comet Halley from the Sun? Approximately when will Comet Halley comet next reach aphelion? Perihelion?
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Check out a sample textbook solutionStudents have asked these similar questions
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
Tutorial
Based on the orbital properties of Uranus, how far across the sky in arc seconds does it travel in one Earth
day? The average orbital radius is 2.88 x 109 km and the period is 84.0 years. (Assume Uranus and the Earth
are at the closest point to one another in their orbits.)
How many full Moons does this distance cover if the Moon has an angular diameter of 0.5 degrees?
Part 1 of 4
We first need to determine how fast the planet is moving across the sky. If we know the period and the
distance between the Sun and the planet we can calculate the velocity using:
2ar
which will tell us how many kilometers the planet travels in a day if we convert the period into days.
days
= (P
years'
|days/year
Pdays
days
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Tutorial
You observe a comet 0.32 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.)
Part 1 of 3
You observe a comet 0.32 AU from Earth with a tail that is 1.7 degrees long. How long is the tail in AU?
We use the small angle formula to calculate the length of the tail in AU.
arc seconds d
Ꮎ
2.06 x 105
D
Solving for the linear distance gives:
dAU = DAU
dAU =
=
AU
arc seconds
2.06 x 105
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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