Lesson 2: Comets

 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝘀

☄️ frozen leftovers from the formation of the solar system composed of dust, rock, and ices. 

🔢 The current number of known comets is: 3,743

WHERE DO COMETS CAME FROM?

SHORT-PERIOD COMETS

☄️Comets that are mostly found way out in the solar system.

☄️Comets that exists in Kuiper Belt

☄️They take less than 200 years to orbit the Sun.

LONG-PERIOD COMET

☄️Other comets live in the Oort Cloud

      Oort cloud

            👉🏻the sphere-shaped, outer edge of the solar system that is about 50 times farther away from the Sun than the Kuiper Belt.

☄️The comet with the longest known orbit takes more than 250,000 years to make just one trip around the Sun!

WHAT BRINGS COMETS NEAR EARTH SO WE CAN SEE THEM?

THE GRAVITY OF A PLANET OR STAR can pull comets from their homes in the Kuiper Belt or Oort Cloud.

WHAT ARE THE PARTS OF THE COMET?

Nucleus

— heart of every comet

— solid frozen core

— ball of dust and ice is usually less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) across – about the size of a small town

Coma

— a huge, fuzzy cloud around the nucleus

Why do comets have tails?

☄️As dust and gases escape from the nucleus, sunlight and particles from the Sun push them into a bright tail that stretches for millions of miles behind the comet.

When astronomers look closely, nadiscover nila na dalawa talaga yung tail ng comets.

DUST TAIL

— Looks white and is made of dust. 

— This dust tail traces a broad, gently curving path behind the comet. 

ION TAIL

— Bluish and is made up of electrically charged gas molecules, or ions.

— Always points directly away from the Sun.