By Haley Neihart Physics 1040 Comets By Haley Neihart Physics 1040

What is a comet? A comet is the leftover material from the formation of stars and planets from billions of years ago. Comets are said to look like “dirty snowballs”

Nucleus of the comet is the solid core The coma is a fuzzy cloud surrounding a comet.

As a comet get’s close to the sun, the frozen gases begin to heat up. This heat creates the tail of the comet.

A comet’s tail is formed when it gets closed to the sun. Both the tail and the coma are only present when close to the sun.

Dust Tails Dust tails are usually yellow and made up of small particles illuminated by the sun. Dust tails are usually curved.

Gas Tails Gas ion tails are usually ultraviolet blue Gas tails form when ultraviolet sunlight makes electrons into ions through ionization. Gas tails are normally straight.

The Kuiper Belt is beyond the orbit of Neptune, and the Oort Cloud is found resides beyond Neptune and Pluto.

Where are Comets Found? Comets are found in two main regions of space. The Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud. Short period comets are found in the Kuiper Belt, and long period comets are found in the Oort Cloud.

The Kuiper Belt

The Oort Cloud

A Comet’s Orbit Comets go around the sun in a highly elliptical orbit. They can spend thousands of years in the solar system before returning to the sun. The closer to the sun, the faster they move

Do Comets Live Forever? Each time a comet visits the sun, it loses some of it’s volatiles. Eventually, it becomes just another rocky mass in the solar system.

Many scientists believe that an extinct comet takes the form of an asteroid.

Bibliography What is a Comet? (2010). Retrieved April 20, 2011, from www.qrg.northwestern.edu: http://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/projects/vss/docs/space-environment/1-what-is-a-comet.html Fisher, D. (2010). The Space Place. Retrieved April 20, 2011, from www.spaceplace.nasa.gov: http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/stardust/index.shtml Reagle, M. (2009). Comets. Retrieved April 20, 2011, from www.amazing-space.stsci.edu: http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/resources/explorations/comets/teacher/scientificbackground.html