NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF THE EARLY FORMATION OF THE OORT CLOUD
COMETS
by Maureen Connolly
USS/Senior Capstone Thesis
Miami University
August 1997
The cometary reservoirs are thought to have been
formed during the early phases of the formation of the solar system. An
N-body program is used to simulate the early formation of the Oort
Cloud comets. The gravitational effects on the smaller icy bodies in
the accretion disk by the Jovian Planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,
Neptune) are calculated. Through these calculations the evolution
of the semi-major axes and eccentricities of the planetesimals in the
accretion disk are tracked allowing the determination of whether or
not the comets are ejected into the Oort Cloud or entirely out of the
solar system.
This document was last modified on
Tuesday, 08-Sep-1998 16:43:50 EDT;
and has been accessed [an error occurred while processing this directive] times.
Send comments or suggestions to: