An asteroid approaches Jupiter and is slung into a new trajectory around across the solar system. If it's eccentricity is greater than 1, which statement might be true?

*
1 point
The asteroid slows down as it passes around Jupiter.
The asteroid continues out of the solar system, never to return.
The asteroid adopts an unusual orbit around the sun, such as an egg shape.
The asteroid falls into an regular orbit around Jupiter instead of the sun.

1 answer

If the eccentricity of the asteroid is greater than 1, the statement "The asteroid continues out of the solar system, never to return" might be true. A value of eccentricity greater than 1 indicates that the orbit of the asteroid is hyperbolic, meaning it will not be bounded and will not return to the Jupiter or the Sun.