COMET CLEANSER | COMETS

Comets are nothing else but cold and dirty pieces of rock of about 10 kilometers in size. They typically originate from huge debris belts that are part of the outer solar system. During the collision of some bodies, they can get kicked to take on a trajectory that brings them closer in towards and around the Sun. This can lead to comets coming by Earth only once (open trajectory) or repeatedly (on an ellipse). However, traversing through the solar system takes time so many comets come back after only hundreds or thousands of years. The comet Hale-Bopp has a period of 2,500 years. It was visible to the naked eye in the evening sky in 1995. Comets are most famous for their beautiful tails that arise from the evaporation of their material. Depending on the composition of the comet, one or more tails develop due to the different gases diffusing off the comet. The tail, or tails, always points away from the Sun since the solar wind blows material off the comet. This implies that the tail is not always behind the comet. It can also be ahead of it.

Comet Hale-Bopp visiting us from the outer solar system

Photo Credit: NASA

Schematic orbit of a comet. The tail always points away from the Sun

Image Credit: NASA