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Comets are believed to have two sources. Long-period comets (those which take more than 200 years to complete an orbit around the Sun) originate from the Oort Cloud. Short-period comets (those which take less than 200 years to complete an orbit around the Sun) originate from the Kuiper Belt. Danish astronomer Jan Oort proposed that comets reside in a huge cloud at the outer reaches of the solar system, far beyond the orbit of Pluto. This has come to be known as the Oort Cloud. Statistics imply that it may contain as many as a trillion comets and may account for a significant fraction of the mass of the solar system. However, since the individual comets are so small and so far away, we have no direct evidence about the actual existence of the Oort Cloud. The Kuiper Belt is a disk-shaped region past the orbit of Neptune roughly 30 to 100 AU from the Sun. The Belt contains many icy bodies which can become comets. Occasionally the orbit of a Kuiper Belt object will be disturbed by gravitational interactions with the giant planets in such a way as to cause the object to take up an orbit that crosses into the inner solar system. Although the Oort Cloud is much farther away from the Sun than the Kuiper Belt, it appears that the Oort Cloud objects were formed closer to the Sun than the Kuiper Belt objects. Small objects formed near the giant planets would have been ejected from the solar system by gravitational encounters. Those that didn't escape entirely formed the distant Oort Cloud. Small objects that formed farther out had no such interactions, and remained as the Kuiper Belt objects.

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In Ender's game what is the belt?

In the novel "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card, the belt refers to the asteroid belt in space where the Battle School is located. It serves as a training ground for future military leaders like Ender Wiggin.


How do orbital resonances with Jupiter have affected the asteroid belt?

Orbital resonances with Jupiter have influenced the distribution of asteroids in the asteroid belt by creating gaps known as Kirkwood gaps. These gaps occur at specific distances from Jupiter where orbital resonances with the planet prevent the accumulation of asteroids. As a result, asteroids in these resonant orbits are either ejected from the belt or pushed into different orbits.


What are the biggest heavenly bodies in the solar system?

It depends on how you define "object". The Sun is the largest. Jupiter is the next biggest object in the solar system.Then again, if you want to get really technical, the largest thing in the solar system BY FAR would be Jupiter's magnetosphere, which extends a radius of several million miles and nearly reaches Saturn's orbit.If the Asteroid belt can be considered an object (even though it is comprised of millions or billions of individual 'things' - rocks - then that would be the largest thing in the solar system.


How big does an asteroid need to be in order to impact Earth?

An asteroid needs to be at least 25 meters in diameter to cause significant damage upon impacting Earth.


What is a comets relative position to earth?

Comets orbit the Sun, the Earth orbits the Sun. Thus both the comet and the Earth are in motion one relative to the other and thus the position a the comet relative to the earth is constantly changing.

Related Questions

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.


Are most comets found in either Oort cloud or the asteroid belt?

Rocky asteroids. Icy comets often live in and come from the Kuiper Belt.


What is around the sun?

the planets , comets and the asteroid belt


Is a asteroid belt dangerest?

the asteroid belt is safe for now long as there ere rouge comets comet comet clos to the belt


Does kuiper belt mean comet?

No. The belt is a region of the outer solar system similar to the asteroid belt where millions of comets orbit.


What comet passes by Pluto?

Pluto is at the inner edge of the Kuiper belt, which is similar to the asteroid belt but with comets instead of asteroids. Therefore, millions of comets pass by Pluto.


How were comets found?

Comets come from the Oort cloud and the Kupier Belt


Where do meteroids come from?

The Oort Cloud or the Asteroid Belt.


Is Venus' close to the asteroid belt?

Asteroid 2002 VE68 is a quasi satellite of Venus. However, it is not a true moon - it has only been in this configuration only about 7000 years, and it will probably leave the configuration in about 500 years. Also, 2002 VE68 interacts with Mercury and the Earth, as well as with Venus.


What are the clumps of dust and gas that revoles around the sun?

Those clumps are known as asteroids and comets. Asteroids are rocky objects primarily found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, while comets are icy bodies that come from the outer regions of the solar system. Both asteroids and comets can orbit the Sun.


What planets are located inside and outside the asteroid belt?

Inside: Mercury, Venus, Terra (Earth), MarsOutside: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune,Useful Mnemonic:My Very Efficient Mother Just Served Us Nuts


What is the diffidence between a comet and an asteroid?

A comet is made of ice and dust, while an asteroid is a space rock. Asteroids travel in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Comets fly around our solar system. Asteroids can be from the size of a pebble to 640 miles across, while comets are usually only a few miles across.