The average distance of a comet from the Sun is 600 million km. How many times will a comet pass near the Sun between 2000 and 2020?
September 16, 2020 | Education
| To calculate the average distance from the Sun, we will use the formula of Kepler’s third law: T2 = α3. According to our data, α = 4 AU. Therefore T = 8 years. During the specified period from 2000 to 2020, there can be 2 or 3 passages near the Sun (the answer depends on the initial moment).
