Collision of the Halley asteroid with a comet

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves a collision between Halley's comet and an asteroid, focusing on determining the new trajectory of the asteroid post-collision, including its eccentricity, orbital rotation, perihelion, and aphelion. The context includes specific mass values and properties of the objects involved, as well as relevant equations from orbital mechanics.

Discussion Character

  • Mixed

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to apply conservation of energy and angular momentum to find the trajectory parameters but expresses uncertainty about how to derive these parameters. Some participants question the nature of the collision and the assumptions made regarding energy conservation.

Discussion Status

The discussion is exploring various interpretations of the collision dynamics, with some participants clarifying terminology and questioning the realism of the collision scenario. There is no explicit consensus on the approach to take, but guidance regarding the nature of the collision has been offered.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the initial conditions, including the mass of the objects and the coefficient of restitution, while also highlighting potential misunderstandings about the collision type and its implications for energy conservation.

ahbouk
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1. The problem statement


a comet gets in the way of the Halley asteroid, so the question is: what's the new trajectory of the asteroid (its excentricity, its orbital rotation and it perihelion, aphelion)

both objects have same mass and we suppose that the comet have an negilgeable initial velocity.

all variables and given/known data


what we know is :both objects have same mass M=2.2*10^14 kg

the coefficient of restitution during collision is: 0.5

orbital period of Halley's asteroid: T=75.3 years
initial perihelion: 0.586 AU

initial excentricity: 0.967

Homework Equations



the kepler third law

conservation of angular momentum
relation between energy and excentricity equation and trajectory of asteroid are attached

The Attempt at a Solution



my attempts are to use the conservation of energy and angular momentum but i didn't know how to get the parameters of the trajectory from.
 

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The object is called Halley's comet, and it is a comet, not an asteroid. Well, does not matter for the problem.

Is there a sketch provided? Where does the collision occur? The answer will depend on that.

Kinetic energy is not conserved in the collision.
 
reply

yes my fault it is Halley's comet and the asteroid is in the way of Halley's comet is explained by the joint image.
thnx
 

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The given angle looks like the collision is supposed to be elastic - very unrealistic.
 

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