Galactic perturbations on nearly-parabolic cometary orbits |
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| Authors: | John Byl |
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| Institution: | 1. Trinity Western College, Langley, British Columbia, Canada
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| Abstract: | The effect of galactic perturbations on long-period comet orbits is examined via numerical and analytical means. Relations are found between a comet's initial perihelion position and the positions of succeeding perihelia. It was found that the galactic effects were strongest on the comets initially at galactic latitudes close to 40°. In such cases the galactic perturbations caused the orbit to become almost circular before becoming nearly parabolic again. This effect allows comets with semimajor axes of about 25 000 AU to make only a few passages through the inner solar system in a time interval of 109yr. Thus the galactic field is an important factor in the evolution of long-period comet orbits. The observed distribution of perihelia of long-period comets indicates that galactic effects have been active. |
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