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Sure. As a comet approaches the sun, the comet sheds some of its material, which trails behind it for millions of kilometers. It is this tail that is the most visible part of a comet. In fact, the word comet means "hairy star," referring to the long, streaming tail. In 1910, the earth actually passed through the tail of Halley's Comet.

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Can a comet's tail be hundreds of millions of kilometers long?

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