The number of years it takes a comet to complete one revolution about the Sun is called the comet's orbital period. If the Comet Olbers has an orbital period of 70 years, when is the next expected sighting if the comet was last sighted on Earth in 1956?
Answers
Step-by-step explanation:
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind acting upon the nucleus of the comet. Comet nuclei range from a few hundred meters to tens of kilometers across and are composed of loose collections of ice, dust, and small rocky particles. The coma may be up to 15 times Earth's diameter, while the tail may stretch beyond one astronomical unit. If sufficiently bright, a comet may be seen from Earth without the aid of a telescope and may subtend an arc of 30° (60 Moons) across the sky. Comets have been observed and recorded since ancient times by many cultures.
Comet Tempel collides with Deep Impact's impactor
Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko orbited by Rosetta
Comet 17P/Holmes and its blue ionized tail
Comet Wild 2 visited by Stardust probe
Hale–Bopp seen from Croatia in 1997