The Distribution of the Directions of Perihelia of Long-Period Comets

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Abstract
The distribution of the directions of perihelia of 448 long-period comets is investigated. Standard statistical tests strongly suggest a departure from randomness in the distribution. It further appears that there is some evidence that the perihelion points exhibit a preference for lying near the galactic plane. It is indicated how the accretion theory of the origin of comets can account for the form of the distribution.