"BigKhat" wrote in message
om...
A while ago, I started a thread ...

It struck me the other day that we might be ruining the solar system.
Let me explain. Our use of gravity assist to speed up and sling
probes such as Cassini doesn't come for free. It slows down the
planet we are using to sling the probe (conservation of momentum).
This, of course, brings the planet closer to the sun. If we do it
once or twice, that might be okay, but continued use would ruin our
solar system. Maybe we should have a moratorium on using gravity
assist in the future. Thoughts?

Most people said it no affect. For example....
....
Maybe gut feeling and intuition are better than math here!

Only if you're completely ignorant of math and physics.

Hint: Compare the mass of Jupiter to the estimated mass of the comet
fragments that hit Jupiter several years ago and tell us again how we're
"ruining" the solar system.

Jeff
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