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ShareA comet is a small body in the solar system that orbits the Sun and (at least occasionally) exhibits a coma (or atmosphere) and/or a tail - both primarily from the effects of solar radiation upon the comet's nucleus, which itself is a minor body composed of rock, dust, and ices.
Comets' orbits are constantly changing: their origins are in the outer solar system, and they have a propensity to be highly affected (or perturbed) by relatively close approaches to the major planets.
Some are moved into sungrazing orbits that destroy the comets when they near the Sun, while others are thrown out of the solar system forever.
For more information about the topic Comet, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:
Comet Hale-Bopp — Comet Hale-Bopp was probably the most widely observed comet of the 20th century, and one of the brightest seen for many decades. It was visible to ... > read more
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Near-Earth object — Near-Earth objects (NEO) are asteroids, comets and large meteoroids whose orbit intersects Earth's orbit and which may therefore pose a collision ... > read more
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 — Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 (SL9, formally designated D/1993 F2) was a comet which collided with Jupiter in 1994, providing the first direct observation ... > read more
Dysnomia (moon of Eris) — Dysnomia, is a moon of the dwarf planet Eris. The satellite is about 60 times fainter than Eris, and its diameter is estimated to be approximately ... > read more
Solar wind — A solar wind is a stream of charged particles (i.e., a plasma) which are ejected from the upper atmosphere of a star. When originating from stars ... > read more
Planet — The International Astronomical Union defines "planet" as a celestial body that, within the Solar System that is in orbit around the Sun; has ... > read more
Definition of planet — The definition of "planet" has for some time been the subject of intense debate. Although the word dates back thousands of years, no officially ... > read moreRecommend this page on Facebook, Twitter,
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