Implications of the Observed Distributions of Very Long Period Comet Orbits

Abstract

It is argued that the calculations of Van Flandern (1977), and Byl (1983) seriously underestimate the effects of galactic perturbations on the distributions and orientations of very-long-period comets. Revised calculations are given which take into account the effects of galactic perturbation and observational error. It is shown that the revised calculations are consistent with a uniform distribution of comets within the Oort Cloud.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1985
Accession Number
ADA591123

Entities

People

  • R. S. Harrington

Organizations

  • United States Naval Observatory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Asteroids
  • Clustering
  • Equations
  • Equations Of Motion
  • Grids
  • Information Operations
  • Latitude
  • Longitude
  • Mathematics
  • Orbits
  • Orientation (Direction)
  • Perihelions
  • Perturbations
  • Solar System

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Astronomy/Astrophysics
  • Atmospheric Science / Meteorology, specifically Wind Wave Turbulence.
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Orbital Debris