The Escape of Long-Period Comets from the Solar System.

Abstract

view Abstract Citations References Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS The Escape of Long-Period Comets from the Solar System. Lyttleton, R. A. Abstract At each approach to the sun, a long-period comet can undergo a change in its binding energy (- GM0/2a) by an amount comparable with this and of either sign, through the dynamical action of Jupiter (and to a lesser extent of the other great planets). As a result, the total orbital energy of a comet performs a kind of linear random walk, and if it ever becomes essentially positive, the comet will have ultimately hyperbolic motion and escape from the solar system. Before this stage, the larger a becomes the longer the period, which varies as and the longer the interval between successive approaches to the sun-Jupiter system. This feature introduces a special difficulty into the problem of determining the statistical evolution of the binding energies of long-period comets. By Monte Carlo methods the histories of several hundred postulated comets have been followed out for a series of assumed starting values of their energies. It is found that after a time of 5 x 10~ years, only about one comet in 2000 would have remained bound to the solar system, if no source of replenishment of comets is assumed. The study strongly suggests that the comets cannot be original members of the solar system and that the presence now of some 200 000 or more long-period comets implies that some process of addition of comets occurs from time to time. %. There is no time variation greater than 10% in the half-hour that elapses between our observations. Our absolute measurements indicate the same average intensity within 5% as that obtained by Von Kluber in the Khartoum eclipse in 1956. This research was supported by the ONR, the NSF, and the NASA. Publication: The Astronomical Journal Pub Date: November 1960 DOI: 10.1086/108298 Bibcode: 1960AJ.....65..492L full text sources ADS |