Comet Hale-Bopp is a long period comet that is believed to come from the Oort cloud which lies far beyond the outermost planets. In our solar system, Hale-Bopp travels in an elliptical orbit around the Sun and spends most of its time beyond the outermost planets.
Using a diagram, explain how the motion of Comet Hale-Bopp in its orbit supports Kepler's second law. (3 marks)
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- Kepler’s Second Law states that a line between the comet and the sun will sweep an equal area in equal time.
- When the comet is closer to the sun, it must travel with a greater velocity in its orbit compared to when it is far away to sweep the same area in the same time (i.e. such that `A_1=A_2`.
- Comet Hale-Bopp supports this as it spends most of its time beyond the outermost planets. It therefore travels at a slower speed compared to when it is close to the sun. This reduced velocity allows it to sweep the same area compared to when it is closer to the sun.
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- Kepler’s Second Law states that a line between the comet and the sun will sweep an equal area in equal time.
- When the comet is closer to the sun, it must travel with a greater velocity in its orbit compared to when it is far away to sweep the same area in the same time (i.e. such that `A_1=A_2`.
- Comet Hale-Bopp supports this as it spends most of its time beyond the outermost planets. It therefore travels at a slower speed compared to when it is close to the sun. This reduced velocity allows it to sweep the same area compared to when it is closer to the sun.