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Comets and asteroids and the origin of the solar system

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What knowledge do comets and asteroids provide to studies of the origin of the solar system?

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Solution Summary

The solution analyzes comets and asteroids in order to study the origin of the solar system. This analysis is given in the solution.

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Typical asteroids have not-too elliptical orbits and many of them reside at orbits somewhere between Mars and Jupiter.

Comets have very elongated orbits and represent a very small fraction of the population of Oort cloud: a very rarefied collection of small bodies spread over the volume of about a light year size around the Sun.
When comets approach the Sun they show spectacular tails of ionized gas which some enthusiasts like to watch.

There might not necessarily be a clear distinction between comets and asteroids, were it not for the differences in their orbits.

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