Collision with meteoroids as one of the possible mechanisms for the splitting of cometary nuclei

1Guliyev, AS
1Nasir al-Din al-Tusi Shamakhi Astrophysical Observatory, Pirqulu, Azerbaijan
Kinemat. fiz. nebesnyh tel (Online) 2017, 33(4):68-80
https://doi.org/10.15407/kfnt2017.04.068
Start Page: Dynamics and Physics of Solar System Bodies
Language: Russian
Abstract: 

The results of the statistical analysis of the dynamic parameters of 114 comets undergoing to nuclear splitting are presented in the article. The list of the objects contains: comets splitted in the period of observation, one fragment from each comet couples, the lost comets with designation D, comets with large-scale features. Some aspects of the following hypothesis are studied: disintegration of the comet nucleus happens as a result of their collision with meteoroid streams. For the verification of this hypothesis position of splitted comet’ orbits relatively to 58 meteor streams from Cook’ catalogue is analyzed. Number (N) of orbital nodes of splitted comets within distance 0.001, 0.005, 0.01, 0.05 and 0.1 a.u. from each stream is calculated. For the determination of the excess of N the special algorithm is developed. It allows to find the expected value and dispersion for these comet nodes. The comparative analysis of parameter N in 29 cases results in a redundancy of N. It means that one of possibility reasons of disintegration of comet nucleus is their collision with meteoroids in the streams. Asteroid and Kuiper belts as potential sources of vast number of sporadic meteoroids are tested similarily. According to the results of calculations the first of them may be considered as the most efficient region of the disintegration of the periodic comets.

Keywords: comet, disintegration, meteoroid
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