Newton's law of gravity unveiled a 1) ……………… truth about comets: their orbits can take any shape, like elliptical orbits, parabolic paths, or even hyperbolic form.

But among the hundreds of known comet paths, none exhibit a clear-cut hyperbolic form distinguishable from a parabola to our eyes. Even more intriguing, all observed ellipses are remarkably elongated, unlike the relatively round closed, circular tracks of planets. This has led astronomers to regard the parabola as the typical comet orbit and view deviations from it as unusual, requiring special explanation. The 2)………………. of parabolic or near-parabolic orbits explains why comets are like temporary guests in our solar system.