Whatarecomets.pptVIP

What are comets? In 1704 Sir Edmond Halley hypothesized that the comets of 1456, 1532, 1607, 1682 were the same object. He calculated a 75.7 year orbit and predicted that it would return in 1758. Halley died; but comet returned. perihelion=0.59 AU; aphelion=35.3 AU (closest to Sun) (farthest from Sun) Comets are dirty iceballs! Nucleus (very small, about 10 km across) rock ices (mostly H2O and CO2 [dry ice], some methane CH4 ammonia NH3) Coma (103 to 105 km across) is gaseous. As comet approaches Sun ices sublime, change from solid to gas, dust grains loosen and move away Tails (105 km