Hale–Bopp orbit

Your Account

reacted to your score
@Silver
Joined
Jan 26, 2015
Messages
12,038
Reaction score
5,730
What's up with the orbits of comets ?
For example, take a look at the hale bopp comet orbit,
Animation_of_Hale-Bopp_orbit.gif

All objects here are obviously kept in their orbit due to Sun's gravitational pull, I guess.
Comet seems to have orbital center somewhere else.
Questions are :
*what is keeping a comet in a specific orbit
*chances comet will bump into a planet in a Solar system
*what's up with the eliptical orbit , is that comet specific and planets have circular
*how come gravity of the Sun and of other planets is not able to change comets orbit
 
Im no astrophysicist but I would assume the comet coming from that angle and speed would just get redirected by the gravity, not totally sucked in. Idk though
 
Jupiter got hit by Shoemaker Levy back in 1994. It also got hit by something else last year.

So, comets do get their orbits affected by planets. Specifically, the gas Giants.

Heck, there was an episode of Cosmos that stated that there wouldn't be life on earth if Jupiter didn't act as a shield for us.
 
*what is keeping a comet in a specific orbit: gravity
*chances comet will bump into a planet in a Solar system: yes
*what's up with the eliptical orbit , is that comet specific and planets have circular: all are elliptical
*how come gravity of the Sun and of other planets is not able to change comets orbit: it does
 
*what is keeping a comet in a specific orbit

Gravity, same as all other objects interacting. Gravity of which object, it depends on the comet or stellar body.

*chances comet will bump into a planet in a Solar system

Most of the ones that would strike a planet already have although some with extremely long orbit times could still strike a planet. Jupiter was hit by Shgoemaker-Levy 9 in 1994 and left scorch marks on the planet larger than Earth.

*what's up with the eliptical orbit , is that comet specific and planets have circular

Almost all astronomical bodies have an eliptical orbit. Its a math question if you want to look into it. About the only body I know of with a close to circular orbit is our moon and that in itself is another huge bag of mysteries.

*how come gravity of the Sun and of other planets is not able to change comets orbit

They do change the orbits. If you removed our sun from the solar system, that comet in the main post would no longer have the same orbit path.
 
Thank goodness this isn’t a Hanson revival..
 
Comets often orbit the sun but it's a highly eccentric orbit. By the time a comet reaches its closest point to the sun, its potential energy has converted into kinetic, which usually allows it to move around the sun faster than the sun's gravity can pull it in.
 
Comets by their nature have highly elliptical orbits, comet doesn't just denote a kind of asteroid but one which reacts to the suns heat when it gets close by producing gas.

The vast majority of these kings of water rich asteroids are in the outer solar system and we only see the ones which get disrupted and thrown into the inner solar system and become comets,
 
any info on the source of that gravity ?
around what object is that comet orbiting ?

They orbit the sun, or more specifically they orbit the center of mass of the solar system which is either inside or very near the sun.

Most comets come from the Kuiper belt, like the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, just much further away and mostly made of ice instead of rocks. Most Kuiper belt objects are in a stable orbit around the sun that doesn't bring them into the inner solar system. Gravitational interactions between those objects, and the potential planet nine if it's out there, sometimes fling them into the inner solar system. From there one of three things happens: they can get captured in a new orbit, the highly elliptical kind you're asking about, they can get flung out of the solar system never to return, or they can get destroyed, i.e. they hit a planet, dive into the sun, get ripped apart by the sun's gravity, or get disintegrated by solar radiation.
 
*what is keeping a comet in a specific orbit: gravity
*chances comet will bump into a planet in a Solar system: yes
*what's up with the eliptical orbit , is that comet specific and planets have circular: all are elliptical
*how come gravity of the Sun and of other planets is not able to change comets orbit: it does
Lol.
200.gif
 
What's up with the orbits of comets ?
For example, take a look at the hale bopp comet orbit,
Animation_of_Hale-Bopp_orbit.gif

All objects here are obviously kept in their orbit due to Sun's gravitational pull, I guess.
Comet seems to have orbital center somewhere else.
Questions are :
*what is keeping a comet in a specific orbit
*chances comet will bump into a planet in a Solar system
*what's up with the eliptical orbit , is that comet specific and planets have circular
*how come gravity of the Sun and of other planets is not able to change comets orbit

Questions are :
*what is keeping a comet in a specific orbit Momentum
*chances comet will bump into a planet in a Solar system The chances are low because the planets are relatively small compared to the size of the solar system but it does happen.
*what's up with the eliptical orbit , is that comet specific and planets have circular All orbits are elliptical. A circle is an ellipse.
*how come gravity of the Sun and of other planets is not able to change comets orbit A comet's orbit is constantly being changed by the gravity of the sun as well as the giant planets. As you can see, the Sun pulls the comet toward it but that pull increases the speed enough so the comet has enough momentum to avoid crashing into the Sun but the Sun slows the comet and turns it's path so it swings around the sun and continues on a path to the outer reaches of the solar system. The gravitational pull of the Sun overcomes the outward bound component of the comet's momentum causing the comet to loop around and get pulled back toward the sun again.
 
They orbit the sun, or more specifically they orbit the center of mass of the solar system which is either inside or very near the sun.

Most comets come from the Kuiper belt, like the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, just much further away and mostly made of ice instead of rocks. Most Kuiper belt objects are in a stable orbit around the sun that doesn't bring them into the inner solar system. Gravitational interactions between those objects, and the potential planet nine if it's out there, sometimes fling them into the inner solar system. From there one of three things happens: they can get captured in a new orbit, the highly elliptical kind you're asking about, they can get flung out of the solar system never to return, or they can get destroyed, i.e. they hit a planet, dive into the sun, get ripped apart by the sun's gravity, or get disintegrated by solar radiation.

Most comets originate from the Oort cloud.
 
Jupiter got hit by Shoemaker Levy back in 1994. It also got hit by something else last year.

So, comets do get their orbits affected by planets. Specifically, the gas Giants.

Heck, there was an episode of Cosmos that stated that there wouldn't be life on earth if Jupiter didn't act as a shield for us.

Yep. Jupiter has saved our asses countless times
 
Back
Top