
doi: 10.1086/113173
The distribution of the axes defining the planes and orientations of the orbits of 542 long-period comets are analyzed. The directions of the perihelia and of the oriented plane normals show significant nonuniformity in their distributions. The preferred direction of perihelia near the apex of solar motion is refined to an (1 sigma) error circle of 20.6 deg, and possible concentrations of the plane normals and the directions of perihelion velocity along roughly orthogonal directions are noted, although the error circles extend to nearly full hemispheres. Planes of preference (and avoidance) are found from the distribution ellipsoids of the three orbital axes, with the perihelion directions lying preferentially along the galactic plane. The distribution ellipsoids of all three sets of orbital axes exhibit anisotropies roughly twice those expected for random distributions.
| selected citations These citations are derived from selected sources. This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | 13 | |
| popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network. | Average | |
| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Top 10% | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Average |
