On Averaging Eccentric Orbits: Implications for the Long-term Thermal Evolution of Comets

Abstract One of the common approximations in long-term evolution studies small bodies is use circular orbits averaging actual eccentric ones, facilitating coupling processes with very different timescales, such as orbital changes and thermal processing. Here we test a number schemes for elliptic context comets, aiming to identify one that best reproduces orbits’ heating patterns surface subsurface temperature distributions. We simplified model applied on simulated comets both their equivalent averaged orbits, range parameter space relevant inner solar system. find time-averaging are more adequate than spatial-averaging ones. Circular created by means time average equilibrium approximate efficiently distributions large area space, rendering them powerful tool orbits.