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Comet showers and the steady-state infall of comets from the Oort cloudThe theoretically-determined location of the boundary between semimajor axes of those comets entering the planetary system only in bursts or showers, and those which arrive in a steady stream, is abrupt and falls at the observed inner edge of the Oort cloud. It is proposed that the comets were formed in the outer parts of the collapsing protosun, which had a radius of less than 5000 AU. If so, then: (1) a first-generation comet cloud may have been produced, with a radius of more than 1000 AU, and the coupled dynamical perturbations of passing stars and Jupiter would lead to the formation of a comet cloud similar to the Oort; while (2) if the Oort cloud comets originated in this inner cloud, and were later ejected into their present orbits by the perturbations of passing stars and Jupiter, the total inner cloud mass is two orders of magnitude greater than that of the Oort cloud.
Document ID
19820032690
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Hills, J. G.
(California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 10, 2013
Publication Date
November 1, 1981
Publication Information
Publication: Astronomical Journal
Volume: 86
Subject Category
Astronomy
Accession Number
82A16225
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NGR-09-015-159
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS7-100
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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