It requires only a tiny percent of the mass to be ejected in order to
produce an immense coma. Furthermore, the mass almost certainly was
ejected at low velocity, and seems to be fairly isotropic.
The apparent motion of the comet is quite low now, so it will take some
time to get enough measurements to accurately calculate the orbital
elements. But I rather expect that the effect of the outgassing on the
orbit is very small.
Chris
*****************************************
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "E.P. Grondine" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Friday, October 26, 2007 3:06 PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] 17P Holmes
Hi all -
(My earlier post on this appears not to have made it
to the list.)
Does anyone know yet how the outgassing (and whatever
caused it) has affected 17P's orbit?
E.P. Grondine
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