COMET

Comet

A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, heats up and begins to outgas, displaying a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet. Comet nuclei range from a few hundred metres to tens of kilometres across and are composed of loose collections of ice, dust, and small rocky particles. The coma and tail are much larger, and if sufficiently bright may be seen from the Earth without the aid of a telescope. Comets have been observed and recorded since ancient times by many different cultures.

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comet

Noun

  1. A celestial body consisting mainly of ice, dust and gas in a (usually very eccentric) orbit around the Sun and having a "tail" of matter blown back from it by the solar wind as it approaches the Sun.
  2. A celestial phenomenon with the appearance given by the orbiting celestial body.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: comet
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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