Sungrazers are characterized by very small perihelion distances - meaning they pass extremely close to the Sun - which can make them appear spectacularly bright for a brief period. This special class is responsible for many of the most spectacular comets seen throughout history. There also exists a third type of comet, known as a sungrazer. Short-period comets circle the Sun in less than approximately 200 years, while long-period ones can take thousands to millions of years to complete a single orbit. When viewed from edge-on, the thin sheet of cometary dust lagging behind the comet looks like a sunward pointing spike.Ĭomets typically come in two main flavors: short- and long-period. However, this is an optical illusion that can appear as Earth crosses the plane of the comet’s orbit when the body is close to the Sun. This tail can be seen emanating from the nucleus and seemingly pointing toward the Sun. If it’s a bright comet, there might even be a third tail called the anti-tail. An ion tail typically presents a notable bluish color, in stark contrast to the hazy white hue of a dust tail. Meanwhile, the ion tail, which is more strongly affected by the solar wind, always points directly away from the Sun. Material from the dust tail escapes the comet’s gravitational grasp, spreading out behind the comet along its orbital path, often taking on a curved shape. This is often called the gas tail or ion tail, which glows not due to solar illumination but ionization. And occasionally, a second tail can form from the gases that are released by the comet. This dust tail is sometimes visible to us on Earth because it reflects sunlight. Pressure from solar radiation and the solar wind then shapes this coma into a tail of dusty material pointing away from the Sun. This blows dust away from the comet’s nucleus, forming a large, tenuous atmosphere around it called a coma. As these bodies slowly draw closer to the Sun, solar heating causes volatile materials within to vaporize. Before you plan your composition and set up your equipment, you might be wondering what features you should be on the lookout for.Ĭomets are small bodies of ice, rock, dust, and frozen gases which astronomers think originate from the distant reaches of our solar system.
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