Consider a comet in a long,thin elliptical orbit with a semimajor axis of one astronomical unit.What can you say about the sidereal period of this comet?
A) The sidereal period will be less than one year.
B) The sidereal period will be one year.
C) The sidereal period will be more than one year.
D) It is not possible to determine the comet's sidereal period without knowing the eccentricity of its orbit.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to Kepler's Third Law, the square of the sidereal period of an orbiting body is proportional to the cube of the semimajor axis of its orbit. Since the semimajor axis is one astronomical unit, the sidereal period is one year, similar to Earth's orbit.

Consider a Comet in a Long,thin Elliptical Orbit with a Semimajor