What is most likely to happen when Earths' orbit intersects the tail of a comet?

Answer 1

If the Earth passes through a comet's tail, a bright meteor shower composed of multiple meteor trails would form in the sky but most meteors would burn up completely before any debris hits the ground.

A comet's tail is made up of a trail of dust, rock fragments, and volatile gases that have been forced from the comet's body by the solar wind and the heat of the sun (evaporation).

The comet's gases will simply blend in with Earth's atmospheric gases if the Earth passes through its tail; however, the dust and rock particles will be slowed down by collisions with the atmosphere's molecules and eventually fall to the Earth's surface. If the Earth passes through this thinly scattered debris trail, its atmosphere will capture some of the comet's particles.

If the dust and rock particles are large enough, they may form a bright visible trail of incandescent vaporized particles containing flame and smoke; if numerous meteors occur in a short period of time, they may form a meteor shower. The dust and rock particles may have high velocity so that friction with the atmosphere will abrade them and raise their temperature so that they streak down as meteors from the sky.

Large enough falling rocks, however, can survive until they explode as a "bolide" or hit the ground as a "meteorite." The majority of grain-sized meteors burn up completely before they hit the ground.

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Answer 2

When Earth's orbit intersects the tail of a comet, it is most likely that the Earth will pass through the debris left behind by the comet. This can result in a meteor shower as the Earth's atmosphere interacts with the comet debris, causing the particles to burn up and produce visible streaks of light in the sky. However, the likelihood of any significant impact on Earth's surface from comet debris is extremely low.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.

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