A comet orbiting the Sun has a perihelion distance of 1 AU. At aphelion, it is at 69 AU. What is the ratio of its speed at perihelion to its speed at aphelion?

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A comet orbiting the Sun has a perihelion distance of 1 AU. At aphelion, it is at 69 AU. What is the ratio of its speed at perihelion to its speed at aphelion?

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Answer 1 · 2016-02-18T02:05:58

69

Explanation:

v = #sqrt#(#mu#(2/r #-# 1/a).
Perihelion = a( 1 #-# e) and aphelion = a( 1 + e). Required ratio simplifies to the ratio aphelion/perihelion.
For the Earth, this ratio is 1.03399.

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A comet orbiting the Sun has a perihelion distance of 1 AU. At aphelion, it is at 69 AU. What is the ratio of its speed at perihelion to its speed at aphelion?

1 Answer

Explanation:

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