Comets

Flashcards covering key concepts related to comets, including their structure, composition, and behavior.

Comet

A bright, fuzzy patch in the sky made from water ice, methane, ammonia, and carbon dioxide, known for its tail and low density.

Nucleus

The main body of a comet, covered in dust, appearing dark rather than shiny, and typically a few kilometers across.

Tail

The stream of gas and dust that extends from a comet, which gets brighter and larger as it gets closer to the Sun.

Coma

A cloud of gas and dust surrounding a comet's nucleus, forming when the nucleus sublimates.

Ion Tail

The tail of a comet made up of atoms and molecules that have lost electrons, pushed away by solar wind.

Dust Tail

The tail composed of dust particles that reflect sunlight, also pushed away by solar wind.

Hydrogen Envelope

A large cloud of hydrogen gas that can form around a comet, sometimes millions of kilometers in size.

Oort Cloud

A region containing long-period comets, where orbits are elliptical but random.

Kuiper Belt

A region where many short-period comets originate, located beyond the orbit of Neptune.

Short-period comets

Comets that have orbits lasting less than 200 years, primarily found in the Kuiper Belt.

Stardust mission

A space mission launched in 2004 to collect comet dust and study materials composed of rocky dust and organic material.

Deep Impact mission

A space mission launched to investigate the icy nucleus of a comet.

Solar wind

A stream of matter and radiation flowing from the Sun that pushes comet tails away.