A comet's perihelion distance is 2 AU and its aphelion distance is 86 AU? What is the comet's semimajor axis? What is its orbital period?

Md Ariful Islam

0 like 0 dislike
1 views
Share with your friends

1 Answers

Md Ariful Islam

Call

The comet follows an elliptical orbit according to Kepler's laws. Given the semi-major axis distance $a$ and the eccentricity $e$. The perihelion distance is:

$a(1-e)=2$

Te aphelion distance is:

$a(1+e)=86$

Adding the equations gives:

$2a=88$

Dividing by 2 gives the semi-major axis distance $a=44$AU.

Kepler's third law relates the period $T$ in years to the semi-major axis $a$ in AU:

$T^2=a^3=44^3$

Cubing and taking the square root gives $T=291.86$ years.

0 like 0 dislike
1 views
Talk Doctor Online in Bissoy App
How is orbital period calculated if perihelion and aphelion are known? For example, the orbit of a spacecraft about the sun has a perihelion distance of 0.5 AU and an aphelion of 3.5 AU., what is its orbital period?

The orbital period can be calculated using Kepler's 3rd law, which states that the square of the orbital period is proportional to the cube of the average distance from ....

1 Answers 1 views
What formula would be used to calculate the aphelion distance of Halley's Comet from the sun? Halley’s comet has a perihelion distance of 0.6 AU & an orbital period of 76 years,

Kepler's third law relates the orbit period T in years to the semi-major axis distance a in AU using the equation $T^2=a^3$. If $T=76$ then $a=17.94$. Given that the comet's...

1 Answers 1 views
How can orbital semimajor axis, eccentricity, and period be calculated if perihelion and aphelion are known?

The formulas for Aphelion and Perihelion are, Ra = a ( 1 + e) and Rp = a ( 1 - e ) if you divide the above equations you...

1 Answers 1 views
What are the perihelion and aphelion speeds of Venus? What are the perihelion and aphelion distances of this planet?

The orbit of Venus is very close to a circle of radius 108.2 M km. The orbit e = 0.007, nearly. I have used average speed as 35 km/s and...

1 Answers 1 views
An asteroid is three times as far from the Sun at aphelion than at perihelion. At perihelion the orbital speed of the asteroid is 25 km/s. What is the orbital speed of the asteroid at aphelion?

If a is the semi-major axis and e is the eccentricity of the orbit of the asteroid, Aphelion/perihelion = 3 = (a(1+e))/(a(1-e)) = (1+e)/(1-e). solving for e, e = $1/2$...

1 Answers 1 views
An asteroid has a perihelion distance of 2.4 AU and an aphelion distance of 4.4 AU? How do you calculate its orbital semimajor axis, eccentricity and period?

When a is in AU unit and period is in years, period = a X sqrt (a). Here, a for is defined as 1 AU.

1 Answers 1 views
Halley’s comet has a perihelion distance of 0.6 AU and an orbital period of 76 years. What is the aphelion distance of Halley’s comet from the Sun?

If you need orbital ,calculations I am sorry.

1 Answers 1 views
A comet orbiting the Sun has a perihelion distance of 1 AU. At aphelion, it is at 69 AU. What is the ratio of its speed at perihelion to its speed at aphelion?

v = $sqrt$($mu$(2/r $-$ 1/a). Perihelion = a( 1 $-$ e) and aphelion = a( 1 + e). Required ratio simplifies to the ratio aphelion/perihelion. For , this ratio is...

1 Answers 1 views
The asteroid Icarus has a perihelion of 0.19 AU and an orbital eccentricity of 0.83. How do you calculate the asteroid's orbital semimajor axis and aphelion distance from the Sun?

$a$ - Semi-major distance; $\quad b$ - Semi-minor distance; $c$ - Centre-to-Focal Point distance; $\quad e$ - Eccentricity of the ellipse; $d_p$ - Perihelion distance; $\quad d_a $ - Aphelion...

1 Answers 1 views
The orbit of Halley’s Comet has a semimajor axis of 18.09AU and an orbital eccentricity of 0.97. How do you compute its perihelion and aphelion distances?

a = 18.09 AU and e = 0.97/ Perihelion = a( 1 $-$ e) and aphelion = a( 1 + e ),.

1 Answers 1 views
X