Category Science

Can a long period comet get converted into a short period one?

Sometimes after successive deflections by Jupiter over many orbits, the orbit of a comet may get distorted so highly as to leave its original orbit and join the Jupiter family of comets, thereby converting it into a short period comet.

Is the period of a comet constant?

A comet is sometimes deflected by the gravity of the gas giants like Jupiter Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, leading to alteration of the period of the comet.

Do all comets have very long periods?

Comets are usually divided into two categories-short comets and long period comets. Short period ones have periods of up to two centuries. Their orbits usually do not extend far beyond the orbit of Jupiter. Long period comets have orbits usually extending far beyond the orbit of Jupiter.

Can a comet cease to exist?

When a comet nears the Sun, a part of its material gets vaporized. After many orbits a comet may lose its mass completely and cease to exist.

Can a comet fail to return?

Sometimes, a comet may be deflected by the gravity of Jupiter so that the shape of the comet’s orbit is changed from an elliptical trajectory to a hyperbolic one resulting in the comet being ejected from the Solar System into deep space never to return.

What is unusual about the shape of the orbit of the comets as compared to those of planets?

Comets move in elliptical orbits as in the case of planets. But while orbits of planets are nearly circular, in the case of comets the ellipses are highly elongated. In some extreme cases, a comet’s orbit may be very nearly parabolic. It is because of this reason that at aphelion a comet may be extremely far away from the Sun, often about 100,000 times farther away from the Sun as the Earth is again, for the same reason, the period of same reason, the period of some comets is very long, sometimes thousands or even millions of Earth years. Comet Kohoutec which appeared in 1974 will repair after ten million years!

What is a comet family?

A group of comets, with each member having a similar aphelion distance, all under the gravitational influence of a large planet, is called a comet family. An example is the Jupiter family of comets. Saturn, Uranus and Neptune also have smaller comet families.

Can comets be seen in daylight?

To be seen in daylight a body has to be sufficiently bright. Generally comets can be seen only at night. However, there have been cases of bright comets, visible in the daytime also. For example, comet Ikeya-Seki was visible in daylight when it appeared in 1965. Another case is that of the so-called ‘Daylight Comet’ seen in 1910.

What is meant by the period of a comet?

The time taken by a comet to make one revolution around the Sun is called the year of the comet or the period of the comet. For example, the year Halley’s Comet is 76 Earth Years.

What happens to the material in a comet when the comet comes close to the Sun?

For a short duration, when the comet comes very close to the Sun, the Sun’s heat vaporizes some of the comet’s material to form a vapour cloud around the comet. The cloud is only a temporary ‘atmosphere’ that recondenses on the comet when it moves away from the Sun.

What kind of material does a comet contain?

A comet contains frozen gases and dust in the form of a giant “ice ball” less than a hundred kilometers in diameter. In astronomical terms, they are extremely tiny bodies.

What is the composition of a comet and its vapour cloud?

When it is near the Sun, the comet consists of a solid portion called the nucleus surrounded by three layers. The first layer is called the coma. The second and third layers consist of dust particles and gas respectively.