The length of comet’s iron tail on March 8, 1997 in kilometers and astronomical units.

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Chapter 15, Problem 43Q

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The length of comet’s iron tail on March 8, 1997 in kilometers and astronomical units.

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Tutorial You observe a comet 0.32 AU from Earth with a tail that is 1.7 degrees long. How long is the tail in AU? How long is the tail in kilometers? How many times could the U.S. fit along the length of the tail? (The width of the U.S. is 4,313 km.) Part 1 of 3 You observe a comet 0.32 AU from Earth with a tail that is 1.7 degrees long. How long is the tail in AU? We use the small angle formula to calculate the length of the tail in AU. arc seconds d Ꮎ 2.06 x 105 D Solving for the linear distance gives: dAU = DAU dAU = = AU arc seconds 2.06 x 105

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