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Comets and Meteors

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Solar System Astrophysics

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Abstract

In this and the next chapter, we move away from the planets and look at the small bodies of the solar system. We begin with an indepth look at comets: their orbits and orbital families, the structure and composition of the nucleus (the solid object), the gases and dust surrounding the comet, the ion and dust tails, the cometary magnetosphere, and the origins of comets. The second part of the chapter is concerned with a detailed look at meteors (the flash of light across the sky) and their cause in terms of the heating and ablation of meteoroids plummeting into the Earth’s atmosphere. The chapter concludes with a discussion of interplanetary dust and the effects on it of solar radiation.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Phyllosilicates are silicate minerals characterized by sheets of silicate tetrahedra and/or octahedra. Smectite is a family of phyllosilicate clay minerals characterized by repeating layers in which a single octahedral sheet is sandwiched between two tetrahedral sheets.

  2. 2.

    Sometimes called the solar apex, the direction in space toward which the Sun is moving with respect to the motions of nearby stars; it is roughly at α = 18h and δ = 30°; see Milone and Wilson 2013, Sect. 4.2.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Physics & Astronomy, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

    Eugene F. Milone (Professor Emeritus) & William J. F. Wilson (Senior Instructor Emeritus)

Authors
  1. Eugene F. Milone
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  2. William J. F. Wilson
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Challenges

Challenges

  1. [14.1]

    Organize the historical theories of the nature of comets. Is there more evidence for smooth historical progression or for abrupt paradigm shifts?

  2. [14.2]

    On the basis of information in this chapter and from the orbital and physical data of Tables 13.1 and 13.2, which, if any, of the present day moons of the planets are likely to have been comets or Centaurs originally?

  3. [14.3]

    Discuss the limitations of Tisserand’s criterion and the precision with which the left and right sides of the equality need to agree.

  4. [14.4]

    (a) Compute the expected brightness of a slow (12 km/s), 10 g meteor of silicate composition; assume a vertical path. Make any other necessary assumptions, describing what they are.

    (b) How many meteors of this or greater brightness are potentially visible during the year all over the entire Earth?

  5. [14.5]

    Suppose the particle of Q. [14.4] were a fast (72 km/s) meteor with a mass of 10−2 g; (a) how bright would it get and (b) how long could it be seen?

  6. [14.6]

    If the particle of Q. [14.5] avoided the Earth, what other destiny/ destinies might await it, and on what time scale?

  7. [14.7]

    C/1973 E1 (Kohoutek) was widely expected to provide a brilliant display when it reached perihelion; it was anticipated to be the “comet of the century.” Comet C/2012 S1 (Ison) was similarly anticipated to be a “comet of the century” but had faded even before its disintegration during perihelion passage on Nov. 27, 2013. Investigate why they were expected to be brilliant, why they were not, and why such apparitions nevertheless are valuable for cometary astronomy.

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Milone, E.F., Wilson, W.J.F. (2014). Comets and Meteors. In: Solar System Astrophysics. Astronomy and Astrophysics Library. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9090-6_5

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