answersLogoWhite

0

A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma (a thin, fuzzy, temporary atmosphere) and sometimes also a tail. In the outer solar system, comets remain frozen and are extremely difficult or impossible to detect from Earth due to their small size. As a comet approaches the inner solar system, solar radiation causes the volatile materials within the comet to vaporize and stream out of the nucleus, carrying dust away with them. The streams of dust and gas thus released form a huge, extremely tenuous atmosphere around the comet called the coma, and the force exerted on the coma by the Sun's radiation pressure and solar wind cause an enormous tail to form, which points away from the sun. Thus, a tail of the coma was formed.

User Avatar

Wiki User

14y ago

What else can I help you with?