Speed update of a comet in an ELLIPTICAL orbit

AI Thread Summary
A comet in an elliptical orbit around the Sun has a closest approach distance of 5e10 m and a speed of 9e4 m/s at that point. Its farthest distance extends beyond Pluto's orbit. To determine its speed at a distance of 6e12 m from the Sun, the conservation of energy principle should be applied. The initial attempts to calculate the speed were incorrect, yielding a result of around 3500 m/s. Understanding the necessary equations for conservation of energy is crucial for solving this problem accurately.
shnav34
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
A comet is in an elliptical orbit around the Sun. Its closest approach to the Sun is a distance of 5e10 m (inside the orbit of Mercury), at which point its speed is 9e4 m/s. Its farthest distance from the Sun is far beyond the orbit of Pluto. What is its speed when it is 6e12 m from the Sun? (This is the approximate distance of Pluto from the Sun.)



Homework Equations


Ug(r) = -G(m1*m2)/r
this is a guess, the problem is i don't know what equations to use

i tried to solve it with an incorrect method and got a speed of 3500 something m/s
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Have you tried the conservation of energy?
 
that's the problem, everyone says that and i have no idea what is needed equations are needed to figure that out what the conservation of energy is
 

Thread 'Errors and significant figures'

I multiplied the values first without the error limit. Got 19.38. rounded it off to 2 significant figures since the given data has 2 significant figures. So = 19. For error I used the above formula. It comes out about 1.48. Now my question is. Should I write the answer as 19±1.5 (rounding 1.48 to 2 significant figures) OR should I write it as 19±1. So in short, should the error have same number of significant figures as the mean value or should it have the same number of decimal places as...
View full post »
Thread 'A cylinder connected to a hanging mass'

Thread 'A cylinder connected to a hanging mass'

Let's declare that for the cylinder, mass = M = 10 kg Radius = R = 4 m For the wall and the floor, Friction coeff = ##\mu## = 0.5 For the hanging mass, mass = m = 11 kg First, we divide the force according to their respective plane (x and y thing, correct me if I'm wrong) and according to which, cylinder or the hanging mass, they're working on. Force on the hanging mass $$mg - T = ma$$ Force(Cylinder) on y $$N_f + f_w - Mg = 0$$ Force(Cylinder) on x $$T + f_f - N_w = Ma$$ There's also...
View full post »

Similar threads

A comet at its closest approach to the Sun
Replies
1
Views
2K
Velocity required to escape the solar system
Replies
15
Views
1K
Elliptical orbit/ determine speed & potential energy
Replies
1
Views
1K
From circular orbit to elliptical orbit
Replies
3
Views
2K
What Is the Speed of the Comet at a Different Distance?
Replies
17
Views
3K
Use angular momentum to find the velocity (comet orbit)
Replies
14
Views
2K
Orbital speed variation as a planet orbits the Sun
Replies
5
Views
1K
Example in chapter: Gravitation
Replies
3
Views
1K
Comet Elliptical Orbits Question
Replies
6
Views
8K
Speed of a comet around the sun.
Replies
1
Views
5K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top