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From where do comets that orbit the sun every 200 years come from?
Wiki User
∙ 15y ago
We believe that comets are the "left-overs" from the formation of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago. For reasons that are not yet clear, a frozen clump of dist, rocks and ice are disturbed from their distant lazy orbits around the Sun, and caused to drop into the inner solar system and come close to the Sun.
The astronomer Jan Oort theorized that there must be an enormous toroidal (doughnut-shaped) "cloud" of these objects, sort of proto-comets in the solar system's deep freeze. While we have never actually observed any objects in the "Oort Cloud" directly (they are much too far away and too dim to be even theoretically visible with our current technology), his ideas made sense and are now an accepted concept in astronomy.
Some astronomers believe that there might be one or more larger planet-sized objects in the Oort Cloud, or perhaps a "black dwarf"; an object not QUITE big enough to become a star. This object, nicknamed "Nemesis", might occasionally come close enough to the Oort Cloud to disturb the orbits of the frozen rocks and cause them to occasionally become comets - or to impact the inner planets such as Earth.
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
Wiki User
∙ 15y agoThe Kuiper Belt.
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Does a meteor orbit the sun?
An object only becomes a meteor when it leaves orbit and enters earth's atmosphere.
Is Halley's comet part of our solar system?
Yes. The solar system is everything that orbits the sun.
What is is the difference between the orbit of a comet and the orbit of a planet?
Comets have elliptical orbits as do planets, in general a comets orbit is more elliptical than a planets orbit. In some cases far more, insomuch as they are temporary visitors to our solar system. --- Comets are small bodies of rock and ice which are in a highly eccentric orbit around the sun. They spend most of their time slowly orbiting the sun, far out beyond the outer planets. Their orbit eventually brings them closer to the sun where they can then be seen more easily as the sun heats the surface and causes gas and dust to come away from the comet. Planets have much more regular orbits, their distance from the sun varies too, but to a much lesser degree. Planets orbits dont cross each others, and they are all on a similar plane. comets orbits are not always on the planetary plane and will cross the orbits of many planets throughout their eccentric orbit.
Large dirty snowball that orbit the sun?
LOL, that can be a lot of things. I suppose you could kind of say that Mars is a large, dirty red snowball. Pluto could also be, but these probably aren't the answers you're looking for. "Large dirty snowballs" that orbit the sun are called "comets". There are intersting things about them. For one, comets don't orbit our solar system the way planets do. Instead, they can come in from all sorts of weird angles. For more information about astronomy, visit NASA.gov and run a search. Did you know that the solar system now only has 8 official planets? ~Apple Juice
Does the red moon come every 10 years?
yes
How often do comets from the oort cloud come to earth?
every 5-10 years.
What celiestial body do comets orbit?
Any object with greater mass than another can cause the lesser object to orbit it. Most of our comets come from the Oort Cloud, beyond Pluto, and they orbit our Sun.
Where do short and long period comets come from?
Short period comets are thought to originate in the Kuiper Belt, outside the orbit of Neptune.Long period comets originate in the Oort Cloud, which is far more distant, about half way to the nearest star!Comets, as with any astronomical body, can have its orbit perturbed (changed) by external gravitational forces. Long period comets can become short period and vice versa. The orbits can range from a few tens of years to many thousands, some can even escape altogether.
Are comets part of the of the asteroid belt?
No. Comets come from beyond the asteroid belt, mostly from a region called the Kuiper Belt, beyond the orbit of Neptune.
What is the source of the solar system's comets?
Most are thought to come from the kuiper belt, further out than the orbit of Neptune. Long term comets may also come from the Oort cloud, which is further out still.
Where do astronomers think that comets orignate?
Comets are classified by the size of their orbits. As soon as a comet is discovered, astronomers make measurements of its position to try to settle what orbit the comet is in. Many comets with an orbital period up to 100 years are in elongated elliptical orbits that extend out to Neptune's orbit and beyond. The faster comets with longer period might come from the Oort cloud at distances up to 1 light year or even further. A small class of comets come from outside the solar system and these are noted by their high speed and hyperbolic orbits which show they will make one visit and disappear off again.
Does a meteor orbit the sun?
An object only becomes a meteor when it leaves orbit and enters earth's atmosphere.
Is Saturn part of the Oort cloud?
No. The Oort cloud is way beyond the orbit of Saturn. It's where many of the comets come from.
How many years does it take for haleys comet to come bythe earth?
It takes roughly 75 years for Halley's comet to come by the earth. All comets orbit the sun, but they do not all originate from the same place, which accounts for their paths and how long their individual orbit takes.
Where do long period comets cycling over 200 years come from?
Long period comets originate in the Oort Cloud.
Are comets stars that contain ice and dust?
Comets are relatively small chunks of rock and ice that orbit the sun, sometimes they come close but usually are far out beyond the orbit of Neptune. Stars are different, they are like our sun. Much bigger and hotter but much further away.
Where is Halley's comet going to be?
Like most comets, Halley's Comet has a very eccentric orbit. Most of the time it is far away from the Sun (and therefore from us); it comes near us once every 75-76 years. It is expected to come near us next time in the year 2061.
