Halley’s Comet In this exercise we will use Starry Night Enthusiast™ to locate Halley’s comet Select Favourites Solar System Comets and Asteroids Comet Halley’s Orbit from the menu. Click the Stop button to stop time flow. Explain the reason for the direction in which the comet’s tail is pointed. From the direction of the tail, can you predict the direction of Halley’s motion when this image was taken? If so, give its direction and explain how you deduced it. If not, explain why not. Click the Play button to start time flow and watch the orbital motion of Halley’s comet. Does the comet orbit the Sun in the same or in the opposite sense to the planets visible in the view? Right-click over the Sun, click on Centre and then use the Location Scroller (hold down the Shift key as well as the mouse button while moving the mouse) move around the Sun until Earth’s orbital plane is flat on the screen. Run time back and forward to watch Halley’s comet as it crosses this plane in its close approach to the Sun, noting particularly the direction of its tail.
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