How close will comet come to earth

  • Thread starter Thread starter scatterbrain8
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Comet Earth
AI Thread Summary
To determine how close a comet will come to Earth, one must calculate the positions of both the comet and Earth at the time of perihelion passage. The orbital parameters provided, including semi-major axis (a), eccentricity (e), inclination (i), and other angles, are essential for these calculations. The equations for orbital mechanics can be applied to find the comet's trajectory and its closest approach to Earth. The user successfully resolved their confusion regarding the calculations. Understanding the timing of perihelion passage is crucial for accurate predictions.
scatterbrain8
Messages
13
Reaction score
0
I'm given the six orbital parameters for a comet and am asked to find how close it comes to earth, but I'm not sure how to go about this...

Should I calculate the position of the comet and Earth and the comet's perihelion passage? If so, are there equations for this type of thing?

The parameters are a=110 AU, e=0.995, i=89 deg, longitude of the ascending node is 180 deg, argument of perihelion= 0 deg and time of perihelion passage = 2008 March 21

I know it's vernal equinox, but not sure how to quantify the positions...
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
figured it out, nevermind
 
TL;DR Summary: I came across this question from a Sri Lankan A-level textbook. Question - An ice cube with a length of 10 cm is immersed in water at 0 °C. An observer observes the ice cube from the water, and it seems to be 7.75 cm long. If the refractive index of water is 4/3, find the height of the ice cube immersed in the water. I could not understand how the apparent height of the ice cube in the water depends on the height of the ice cube immersed in the water. Does anyone have an...
Thread 'Variable mass system : water sprayed into a moving container'
Starting with the mass considerations #m(t)# is mass of water #M_{c}# mass of container and #M(t)# mass of total system $$M(t) = M_{C} + m(t)$$ $$\Rightarrow \frac{dM(t)}{dt} = \frac{dm(t)}{dt}$$ $$P_i = Mv + u \, dm$$ $$P_f = (M + dm)(v + dv)$$ $$\Delta P = M \, dv + (v - u) \, dm$$ $$F = \frac{dP}{dt} = M \frac{dv}{dt} + (v - u) \frac{dm}{dt}$$ $$F = u \frac{dm}{dt} = \rho A u^2$$ from conservation of momentum , the cannon recoils with the same force which it applies. $$\quad \frac{dm}{dt}...
Back
Top