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More comets towards Alpha Centauri?
I was hoping to find out if we would encounter more comets and
interstellar debris on a hypothetical journey going out from our solar system in the direction of Alpha Centauri, compared to any other direction. This is a point which I theorise in my research article at:- http://uk.geocities.com/aa_spaceagen...ropulsion.html Going out from the Sun in the direction of Alpha Centauri, at around (c. 70,000 - 120,000 AUs solar distance), where the individual gravitational spheres of influence of the Sun and Alpha Centauri intersect and merge into each other, the orbital speeds of any comets slow right down. So is it feasible to assume they would concentrate in a 'pool' in this region hanging in a gravity equilibrium between both systems? Based on an analysis of the arrival and departure trajectories of all non-periodic comets in and out of our solar system over the past 300 years, is it possible to show that a greater (statistically significant) number come from the general direction of Alpha Centauri, compared to all other directions in the sky? If we analys all comets with orbital eccentricity, e 0.99 (very long periodic) to e = 1 (parabolic, hyperbolic never returning), then it may just show some results that can confirm this. Where can I find a list of all comets and orbital data over past 300 years? Quote of the assertions in my article:- "The "mid-range" which I refer to here, is a *gravitational* mid range centered on approx. 90,000 AUs solar distance - a third of the total linear distance separating our Sun from Alpha Centauri. At that distance, an object's orbital period, given by Kepler's 3rd law:- a^3 = k * T^2 [ where a = semi-major axis of orbit, T = orbital period and k = Gaussian gravitational constant ] would be no less than 27 million years! Since this territory is effectively a "no man's land", where an object would be equally gravitationally perturbed by both systems, it is quite conceivable that material could accumulate here and more comets and icy debris could be encountered on a voyage going towards Alpha Centauri compared to any other direction. " [[Mod. note -- You might also want to try posting over in sci.space.science, as a lot of planetary-science people seem to read/post there. -- jt]] |
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In article z,
R. G. 'Stumpy' Marsh wrote: In message , (AA Institute) wrote: Based on an analysis of the arrival and departure trajectories of all non-periodic comets in and out of our solar system over the past 300 years, is it possible to show that a greater (statistically significant) number come from the general direction of Alpha Centauri, compared to all other directions in the sky? Well, given that: :: Naked-eye Alpha Centauri appears so bright because it is so close. :: This also means that it has a large proper motion – the drifting of :: stars relative to each other due to their actual motion and direction :: in space. In another 4,000 years Alpha Centauri will have moved near :: enough to Beta Centauri for the two to form an apparent double star. http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/brightest_stars_030715-3.html The proper motion of Alpha Centauri would completely swamp your data if you are considering comets with periods on the order of 27 million years. Alpha Centauri has a radial velocity of 22km/s http://www.krysstal.com/brightest.html, so in a million years it travels 22*60*60*24*365*1000000 = 6.94*10^14km, or the better part of a light-month, relative to the Sun. That's about half the current distance in one orbit of your comets-of-interest. I get a figure closer to 1000x great. Is it possible you forgot to convert light years to km instead of meters? -- "I mean, you don't seem like a bad guy to me..." "I don't? I got a death touch, an army of killer robots and a skull drawn on my chest and I don't look like a bad guy to you? I think you could be in the wrong business." |
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"R. G. 'Stumpy' Marsh" wrote in message . co.nz... In message , (AA Institute) wrote: The proper motion of Alpha Centauri would completely swamp your data if you are considering comets with periods on the order of 27 million years. Alpha Centauri has a radial velocity of 22km/s http://www.krysstal.com/brightest.html, so in a million years it travels 22*60*60*24*365*1000000 = 6.94*10^14km, or the better part of a light-month, relative to the Sun. That's about half the current distance in one orbit of your comets-of-interest. You've accidently dropped a few powers of 10 - in fact it's73 light-years in a million years! -- R.G. "Stumpy" Marsh. |
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