A Comet's Tail Can Stretch for Millions of Miles
When a comet nears the Sun, it heats up and releases dust and gases that form a tail stretching away from the Sun for millions of miles.
Millions of miles. NASA says a comet near the Sun spews dust and gases into a glowing head and a tail that stretches away from the Sun for millions of miles.
Explanation
A comet is small, but its display is not. NASA describes comets as cosmic snowballs of frozen gases, rock and dust that orbit the Sun. When a comet’s orbit brings it close to the Sun, it heats up and spews dust and gases into a giant glowing head larger than most planets. The dust and gases then form a tail that stretches away from the Sun for millions of miles. Note the direction: NASA says the tail stretches away from the Sun. There are a great many of them. According to NASA, there are likely billions of comets orbiting our Sun in the Kuiper Belt and in the even more distant Oort Cloud. NASA counts them among the small bodies of the solar system, along with asteroids and meteors.
Source and verification
- Source
- NASA Tier A
- Last verified
- Confidence
- 95 out of 100
- Verified by
- Ali Ahmad Chaudhry