Comet

A comet is a small body in the solar system that orbits the sun and (at least occasionally)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

exhibits a coma (or atmosphere) and/or a tail -- both due primarily to the effects of solar radiation

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

upon the comet's nucleus, which itself is a minor planet composed of rock, dust, and ices.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Due to their origins in the outer solar system and their propensity to be highly affected by

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

relatively close approaches to the major planets, comets' orbits are constantly evolving. Some

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

are moved into sungrazing orbits that destroy the comets when they near the sun, while others are thrown out of the solar system forever. But a bright comet is one of the surest celestial events to capture the

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

interest of the general public.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Comets are believed to originate in a cloud (the Oort cloud) at large distances from the sun consisting of debris left over from the condensation of the solar nebula; the outer edges of such nebulae are cool enough that water exists in a solid (rather than gaseous) state. Asteroids originate via a different process, but very old comets which have lost all their volatile materials may come to resemble asteroids.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Oort cloud: The Oort cloud (sometimes called the ?pik-Oort Cloud) is a postulated spherical cloud of comets situated about 50,000 to 100,000 AU from the Sun. This is approximately 1000 times the distance from the Sun to Pluto or roughly one light year, almost a quarter of the distance from the Sun to Proxima Ce...

Condensation: Condensation can refer to:...

Solar nebula: In cosmogony, the solar nebula is the gaseous cloud (or accretion disc) from which our solar system is believed to have formed. This nebular hypothesis was first proposed in 1755 by Immanuel Kant, who argued that nebulae slowly rotate, gradually condensing and flattening due to gravity, eventually f...

Comet related Images and Photos (experimental)

Mighty Mouse 'Here I Come' T-Shirt - Blue	Mighty Mouse 'Here I Come' T-Shirt - Blue	Comet Hale-Bopp over East Chop	Halley's Comet
Halley's Comet	I Love Lucy California Here We Come T-Shirt	I Love Lucy California Here We Come T-Shirt	DC Originals Justice League Here They Come T-Shirt
Halley's Comet Soars Over Denmark	Comet' a Light Roan Short-Horn Bull in a Landscape 1811	Halley's Comet is Widely Seen as a Threatening Sign from Heaven	The Flash The Crimson Comet T-Shirt