Answered: If you saw Comet Halley when the comet… | bartleby

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If you saw Comet Halley when the comet was 0.8 AU from Earth and you observed a visible tail 4 degrees long, how long was the tail in kilometers?
(Hint: Use the small-angle formula.) (Note: 1 AU = 1.5 x 10° km.)
X km

Expert Solution

Concept

For Small-angle approximation

The arc length at distance r and angle θ is given by

Answer

The comet distance from the earth is r = 0.8 AU

Now 1 AU = 1.5 × 10⁹ km

Thus

r = 0.8 × 1.5 × 10⁹ km

r = 1.2 × 10⁹ km

Angle to tail length from the earth is θ = 4 degrees

Now

Thus

The length of the comet tail is given by

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