comet - 10 things to know with detail
- 1. A comet is a small celestial body that orbits the Sun, made up of ice, rock, dust, and gas. 2. Comets are often referred to as "dirty snowballs" due to their composition of ice and dust. 3. When a comet gets close to the Sun, the heat causes the ice to vaporize, creating a glowing coma (a cloud of gas and dust) around the nucleus. 4. Comets also have a tail that points away from the Sun, created by the solar wind pushing the gas and dust particles away from the nucleus. 5. The tail of a comet can be millions of miles long and is one of the most iconic features of these celestial objects. 6. Comets can have highly elliptical orbits, meaning they can spend most of their time far from the Sun in the outer solar system before swinging close to it during their closest approach (perihelion). 7. Many comets originate from the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud, two regions of the outer solar system where icy bodies are found. 8. Halley's Comet is one of the most famous comets, with a periodic orbit that brings it close to Earth roughly every 76 years. 9. Comets have been observed for centuries by astronomers and have been associated with significant events in history, such as the appearance of Halley's Comet before the Battle of Hastings in 1066. 10. Studying comets can provide valuable insights into the early solar system and the formation of planets, as they contain material that has remained relatively unchanged since the formation of the solar system over 4.6 billion years ago.