Comets and Meteors - A tail's story
A tail's story
For a short time during each orbit around the Sun, comets can become visible from Earth. When a comet approaches the Sun, it develops three basic parts: a nucleusThe core or center of a comet. (Plural: Comet nuclei.), a comaGlowing cloud of gas surrounding the nucleus of a comet., and a tailThe most distinctive feature of comets; comets can display two basic types of tails: one gaseous and the other largely composed of dust..
The nucleus is the dirty snowball part of the comet, made of ice and a small amount of dust and other solids. It ranges from about 1 to 10 miles across and is at the center of the comet. The nucleus and the coma make up the comet headThe nucleus and the...
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