Families of Long-Period Comets Linked with Large Bodies outside the Solar System Planetary Area Yu. A. Chernetenk

Y. Chernetenko

Transactions of IAA RAS, issue 39, 115–126 (2016)

Keywords: comets, family of comets, orbital elements, approaching, the minimum orbital intersection distance (MOID).

Abstract

An attempt is made in this work to find families of long-period comets and their connection with a large planet existing outside the movement area of the well-known solar system planets (“Evidence for a Distant Giant Planet in the Solar System” by K. Batygin and M.E. Brown). For this purpose, we have studied 530 elliptic comets from the catalog of the Minor Planet Center, where the aphelion distances are more 126 than 40 AU. It can be revealed that the quantity of aphelion distances grows where the heliocentric distance ranges from 50 AU to 150 AU and from 260 AU to 380 AU. Both of these alleged families have a structure similar to a ring in the rectangular oordinates. Therefore, it is possible to conclude that they originate, mainly, from the gravitational attraction of large bodies of the Kuiper belt and the scattered disk. Perhaps, some of them have not been discovered yet. The second group of the aphelion distances coincides with the area of perihelion and the descending node of the hypothetical planet’s orbit which is seen close to this area. Also, it is possible to notice the third group of comets with aphelion distances from 380 AU to 700 AU. Distribution of the orbital elements in the second and the third comet groups does not contradict the values of the new planet’s orbital parameters obtained by K. Batygin and M.E. Brown. Minimal distances between comet orbits and the orbit of the hypothetical planet correspond to the area of its perihelion.

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