Halley's Comet Orbital Speed · PhysicsBowl 2024 #19
Physics · mechanics
Problem
Halley's Comet was last visible on Earth in 1986 and will be visible again in 2061. As it travels on its elliptical orbit around the sun, the speed of Halley's Comet…
a. is constant.
b. increases as it nears the Sun.
c. decreases as it nears the Sun.
d. is zero at two points in the orbit.
e. can't be determined without more observations.