Saturday, July 15, 2023

Comet chase

Pondering near-solar asteroids, I expressed doubt that Atira be worth the delta-V, nor that any other asteroid down here could keep hydrates (like water) tightly enough to be replaced by proton-catching. Then I remembered that episode in The Ark where the titular vessel drains a comet.

What the inner-belters would need (besides luck) is a mirror as can be unpacked or unrolled, to shade the comet as to keep it from boiling off as such so-visibly do. This would double as a sail, slowing it down as it approaches and angling it out as it exits - limiting its semimajor and perihelion (respectively).

The delta-V can be shaved off that bit more if we have a planet from which to borrow momentum. Venus or Earth.

To spray some chilly volatiles over this speculation, comets range in size. If we can see a comet easily (like Halley's) that is several km in radius. I assume many many times more of them will max out with 100m-radius / single cubic megameter volume. Also: the smaller they are, and (again) the more time they spend near the Sun, the less water / methane / ammonia they'll keep.

The good news: what's left is mostly charcoal and that sooty mix has CHON bound up within it.

MATHS 10/15: Burning the Bergin sootball. From 1353 kg: 50×5×2 m of pure water, 100×100×10 m of nitrogen, and, er, lots of carbon-dioxide and sulfur-dioxide. So the water will be pretty sour. MOAR MAFFS 10/26: I'd find these in 1700 kg/m3 C-types so - 0.8 m3 should do it.

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