Message-Id: <3.0.1.16.19970325223743.085fb344@157.22.190.2>
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 1997 22:37:43
To: pinhole@exploratorium.edu
From: Dan Gray <dgray@justin-siena.napanet.net>
Subject: Re: orbit of comets
In-Reply-To: <v01530501af5e5a55ed7d@[207.90.162.215]>
The problem I have with comets being located out of the plane of the solar
system is that this indicates that they are not of solar origin. The sun
and everything else (just about) in the solar system revolves
counterclockwise in a plane perpendicular to the sun's axis of rotation
indicating that everything spun outward from the sun. Since comets don't
follow this at all, that leaves me with three guesses about what's going on
with them:
1. Comets are bodies from interstellar space captured by the sun's gravity
2. Comets formed beore the sun condensed and started spinning, meaning that
they are remnants from the nebula that condensed to form our sun. This
might also explain why the Oort coud (If such a thing exists) orbits so far
out in space.
3. Some event in the formation of the sun, perhaps the initial ignition of
the solar furnace, blasted material far out into space that later condensed
into the comets. This one seems rather unlikely since it would also
produce many particles closer to the sun yet out of the ecliptic which just
aren't there.
Hmmm......
Dan Gray
dgray@justin-siena.napanet.net