1. May 23 Learning Target: Demonstrate the properties and make-up of a comet Vocabulary: 1. coma 2. ion tail 3. dust tail Agenda: Comet lab Dr. Lutz

2. The next visible comet is Comet Faye. Comet Faye's last perihelion was on November 15, 2006. It reached an apparent magnitude of 9.5 during that orbit. The orbital period of Comet Faye is 7.55 years Its next perihelion will occur on May 29, 2014. During this next appearance, its apparent magnitude is expected to be around 12. The appearance of Comet Faye will come a few short months after what many expected to be one of the brightest comets in history, Comet ISON.. Because you asked……..

3. The three main parts of the comet: the nucleus, coma, and tail. Comets are composed of rock, dust, ice and frozen gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, and ammonia. Comets contain a variety of organic compounds, some of these are methanol, hydrogen cyanide, formaldehyde, ethanol, and ethane. Complex molecules such as long-chain hydrocarbons and amino acids may also be in comets. Because you asked……..

4. This picture, taken by the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft this spring shows the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko emitting a halo of dust and gas as it approaches the sun. Rosetta will make history later this year when it orbits and lands on the comet's surface. Comets get their coma, when the sun heats frozen gases erupting from the surface. Dust particles remain in orbit around the nucleus, and make it appear much larger. Rosetta launched in 2004 but has taken a break the last three years. ESA is activating its instruments for the final approach to the comet in August. Watch for a little history this summer

5. Professor Lutz is researching the physical characteristics of planetary nebulae, their central stars and how planetary nebulae fit into stellar evolution. She also analyzes the spectra of symbiotic stars (binaries containing an evolved hot star and a cool star) to determine their chemical compositions, velocities and variability.

6. 1.What is sublimation? 2.What is the coma? 3.What is the ion vs. dust tail? 4.What is the nucleus? 5.What is the hydrogen envelope?