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joe17857
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[SOLVED] Mass of a comet problem
On July 4, 2005, the NASA spacecraft Deep Impact fired a projectile onto the surface of Comet Tempel 1. This comet is about 9.0 {\rm km} across. Observations of surface debris released by the impact showed that dust with a speed as low as 1.0 {\rm m/s} was able to escape the comet.
1)Assuming a spherical shape, what is the mass of this comet? ( The escape speed for an object at the surface of Earth is 11.2 {\rm km/s} ).
2)How far from the comet's center will this debris be when it has lost 70 {\rm \%} of its initial kinetic energy at the surface?
I have absolutely no idea what to do. any help would be appreciated.
On July 4, 2005, the NASA spacecraft Deep Impact fired a projectile onto the surface of Comet Tempel 1. This comet is about 9.0 {\rm km} across. Observations of surface debris released by the impact showed that dust with a speed as low as 1.0 {\rm m/s} was able to escape the comet.
1)Assuming a spherical shape, what is the mass of this comet? ( The escape speed for an object at the surface of Earth is 11.2 {\rm km/s} ).
2)How far from the comet's center will this debris be when it has lost 70 {\rm \%} of its initial kinetic energy at the surface?
I have absolutely no idea what to do. any help would be appreciated.