How Do I Calculate A Comet's Orbit ?

Question

Also .. How Do I Calculate A Comet's Orbit without software

Answer 1

the orbit of a comet like all things in space will follow an elliptical path with the sun at one of the foci

So is this just a math exercise or are you actually trying to plot out a comets orbit in space. if it is a math exercise it is quite easy and you can probably do it in your head (or with a pen and paper if you suck at math like I do)
if you are plotting points in space it is a bit more difficult but not that hard. there are many computer programs to do it because there are alot of calculations and alot of observations needed to pin down the numbers

do a google search
or start here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellipse

http://www.math.rutgers.edu/~cherlin/History/Papers1999/weiss.html

http://wsx.lanl.gov/WebPub/scifair_comet.pdf

Answer 2

ud have 2 know the speed, angle to 2 celestial plane, n size, n gravity of other objects.

whew boring 2 me!

Answer 3

There is software available online to do it.