Question

Where does a comet in a highly eccentric orbit spend most of its time?

A) Near the closest point to the Sun in its orbit.
B) Near the farthest point to the Sun in its orbit.
C) It will spend an equal amount of time close to the Sun and far from the Sun.
D) It depends on the comet's semi-major axis.
E) Comets cannot exist in highly eccentric orbits.

Answer 1

A comet with a highly eccentric orbit spends most of its time near its aphelion, the farthest point from the Sun, due to Kepler's second law which dictates its slower speed at greater distances from the Sun.

Step-by-step explanation:

A comet in a highly eccentric orbit spends most of its time near the farthest point from the Sun, known as the aphelion. According to Kepler's second law of planetary motion, a comet will travel much faster when it is near the Sun (at perihelion) and much slower when it is at the edge of the solar system (at aphelion), because it sweeps out equal areas in equal amounts of time. Therefore, it spends more time in the portion of its orbit where it moves slower, which is near its aphelion.