If half of the earth were taken off by the impulse of a comet then what change would be produced in the moon's orbit?
Need full Explanation.
Answers
Step-by-step explanation:
That’s not how it would work. If a comet, asteroid, moon, planet, or any other astronomical body were to impact Earth, the two bodies would necessarily end up fused together into a slightly larger planet. Planetary gravitational fields are way too strong for any other outcome.
No comet is even remotely big enough to “take off” a chunk of Earth. Any comet or asteroid that impacts the Earth will simply be swallowed up by it, leaving a big crater and a lot of dust in the atmosphere.
If a Mars-sized or larger planet were to impact Earth, it might “take off” a chunk which would then end up in orbit around the newly fused planet. But such a chunk would not have enough kinetic energy to escape completely. In fact, this is exactly how the Earth/Moon system was actually formed some 4 1/2 billion years ago. In such an event, our present Moon might remain in an altered orbit around the new system, or might collide with the planet, or might be flung away entirely. It’s impossible to say which.
If a Saturn-sized or larger planet were to impact Earth, it would swallow Earth completely. The Moon would probably either be swallowed up as well, or flung away entirely.
Step-by-step explanation:
Let's supposed the earth tend to stay in its initial orbit after the comet hit it. Then there may be change in the orbit of the moon.
From the Newton's law of gravitation,
F=GMm/d^2
M= mass of the new earth
m= mass of the moon
d= distance between the centres of earth and moon
The mass of the earth according to your question reduced to half.
That means the mass reduced to half. So, the force of attraction given by the Newton's law will be reduced.
So the gravitational force between the earth and the moon reduced.
So the moon will orbit the earth a slower than usual and takes longer time to complete its revolution. It may not change its radius of orbit.