The Comets.
The Comets.
comets
A dirty snowball is a comet, which is composed of ice, frozen gases (such as carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia), and rock. When a comet travels close to the Sun, the heat causes the ices to vaporize, creating the tail that we see from Earth.
The planet that fits this description is Pluto. It is considered a dwarf planet and is composed of rock, water ice, and frozen gases like methane and nitrogen, giving it a "dirty snowball" appearance.
Comets can be described as "Dirty Snowballs" and are composed of rock, dust, water ice, and frozen gases.
A comet is often described by Astronomers as a 'Dirty Snowball'. This is because a comet comprises of Ice, from frozen gases mixed with dust and other particulate matter, collected on its orbital path.
What are comets made of? Gravity holds stars and planets together, but what holds the other (little stuff) together. Ionic bonds. And it turns out that are only 3 that seem to work: Water (ice), Silicon oxide rock, and ferromagnetic metals (iron, nickel, cobalt). Comets don't seem to have much metal, so "dirty snow-ball". In 1949, Fred Lawrence Whipple theorized that the nucleus of a comet is made of frozen water, rocky debris, and frozen gases. This was called the "icy comglomerate" theory and is now known as the "dirty snowball" theory. However, in 1999, the Stardust spacecraft was launched and in 2004 it retrieved tiny particles from the comet Wild-2's surface and came back two years later in a capsule, landing in Utah. Minerals that formed in the presence of liquid water were discovered, proving that, at some point, pockets of water had existed on the comet. This disproved the "dirty snowball" theory.
All comets, including Encke, are made of rocks, ice, dust, and frozen gases such as ammonia, methane, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. The center of a comet is sometimes referred to as a dirty snowball.
pluto's atmoshpere
Comets are composed of ice, frozen gases, rocks, and dust. When they orbit closer to the sun, they form a glowing coma and a tail as the ice and gases vaporize.
Comets are small, fragile, irregularly shaped bodies composed of a mixture of non-volatile grains and frozen gases. Comets are composed of rock, dust, ice and frozen gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, and ammonia. Sometimes called dirty snowballs, recent studies have shown that the ice of a comet is covered by a crust.
The idea that a comet is like a "dirty snowball" refers to its composition, which is primarily made up of ice, dust, and rocky material. This analogy highlights how comets contain frozen gases and water, similar to a snowball, along with various organic compounds and dust particles, hence the "dirty" aspect. When comets approach the Sun, the heat causes the ice to vaporize, creating a glowing coma and sometimes a tail, which further illustrates their dynamic nature as they travel through the solar system.