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They are attracted towards the Sun by gravity, and if they are in elongated orbits they accelerate inwards before swinging past and going away again.

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Where do comets form?

Comets have two main sources, the Oort Cloud or the Kuiper Belt


What is the name of the cloud with frozen comets that is by Pluto?

The cloud of frozen comets that surrounds Pluto is called the Kuiper Belt.


Are most comets found in either Oort cloud or the asteroid belt?

Rocky asteroids. Icy comets often live in and come from the Kuiper Belt.


Which has not actually been seen by astronomers the Main asteroid belt the Oort cloud or the Kuiper belt?

The Oort Cloud has not been directly observed by astronomers, while both the Main Asteroid Belt and the Kuiper Belt have been observed and studied. The Oort Cloud is a theoretical region of icy bodies beyond the Kuiper Belt, and its presence is inferred from the trajectories of some comets.


How do comets from the oort cloud differ from those found in the kuiper belt?

Comets are thought to have either originated from the Kuiper belt or the Oort cloud. The Oort cloud is much further out than the Kuiper belt, so comets with much longer periods are thought to originate from here, while shorter period comets are thought to mainly originate from the Kuiper belt. The Oort cloud extends as far out as 50,000 AU or nearly one light year from our sun - this is roughly where the boundary is for our solar systems gravitational influence. Passing stars and the gravitational effect of our galaxy are thought to dislodge objects from this hypothetical field of object, causing long term comets such as Halley's comet to enter into an eccentric orbit around our sun. The Kuiper belt, by contrast, extends from about 30 AU to 55AU. Generally speaking, the comets will be similar in composition, but those originating from the Oort cloud may have much longer periods and orbits.

Related Questions

Where do comets form?

Comets have two main sources, the Oort Cloud or the Kuiper Belt


What is the name of the cloud with frozen comets that is by Pluto?

The cloud of frozen comets that surrounds Pluto is called the Kuiper Belt.


Where do comets originate form?

Comets have two main sources, the Oort Cloud or the Kuiper Belt


Are most comets found in either Oort cloud or the asteroid belt?

Rocky asteroids. Icy comets often live in and come from the Kuiper Belt.


What is name for the portion of the outer solar system where comets can be found?

the oort cloud and the kuiper belt


Which has not actually been seen by astronomers the Main asteroid belt the Oort cloud or the Kuiper belt?

The Oort Cloud has not been directly observed by astronomers, while both the Main Asteroid Belt and the Kuiper Belt have been observed and studied. The Oort Cloud is a theoretical region of icy bodies beyond the Kuiper Belt, and its presence is inferred from the trajectories of some comets.


What is the donut-shaped region of comets the begins near Neptune's orbit?

the KUIPER BELT


How do comets from the oort cloud differ from those found in the kuiper belt?

Comets are thought to have either originated from the Kuiper belt or the Oort cloud. The Oort cloud is much further out than the Kuiper belt, so comets with much longer periods are thought to originate from here, while shorter period comets are thought to mainly originate from the Kuiper belt. The Oort cloud extends as far out as 50,000 AU or nearly one light year from our sun - this is roughly where the boundary is for our solar systems gravitational influence. Passing stars and the gravitational effect of our galaxy are thought to dislodge objects from this hypothetical field of object, causing long term comets such as Halley's comet to enter into an eccentric orbit around our sun. The Kuiper belt, by contrast, extends from about 30 AU to 55AU. Generally speaking, the comets will be similar in composition, but those originating from the Oort cloud may have much longer periods and orbits.


Where do short-period comets originate?

Short-period comets originate from the Kuiper Belt, a region beyond Neptune filled with icy debris, or from the scattered disk, which is a distant region beyond the Kuiper Belt. These comets have orbits that last less than 200 years and are affected by the gravity of the outer planets.


Where do comets comets from?

They come from the outer reaches of space.


The kuiper belt and oort cloud are thought to be home to what objects?

The kuiper belt mainly consists of the dwarf planets beyond neptune. These include Pluto, Eris, Dysnomiya, Sedna, etc. The oort cloud is home to all the comets that are present in the universe.


Area of solar system in which comets are located?

comets are on the outside of the solor system but loop in from the sun I believe from astronimical studies in 8th grade, (which my annoying science teacher practically crammed down my throat for a couple of months) there is a large belt of comets just past Pluto.