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Pastimes : Nostradamus: Predictions
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To: Father Terrence who wrote (664)6/21/1999 11:16:00 AM
From: Bill Ounce  Read Replies (2) of 1615
 
re: companion objects

A few things.

(1) Space is mostly empty. So, even if companions were present, the chances of getting hit are about zero. Of course, Nostradamus is about predicting things in the future -- ordinarily, a zero probability endeavor :-)

(2) In space, companion objects tend to orbit around the centeroid of their common mass. Any "close enough" companion objects should be observable as wobble or flicker. If this works for identifying planets around other stars, it should work for more nearby comets.

(3) Comet tails always point away from the sun, which results in the comet tail changing directions relative to the comets direction of motion. This makes it difficult (assuming the rare event of multiple objects traveling in parallel paths) for companion objects to remain hidden in a comet tail. I've read this "object hiding in the tail" story at several web pages. If the object really is close enough to always be in the tail, then the objects should be orbiting about their centeroid of combined masses.
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