Part of the structure of comets is very interesting to know. Because, there are still many people who misinterpret comet as a star.
Komen himself has the nickname as ‘tailed star’ or ‘snow universe’. This is because of the appearance of the comet which has an elongated part like a tail and is snow white.
However, comets and stars are actually very different. Comets are collections of dust that freeze when they are far from the Sun. Comets have parts on their bodies, from the head to the tail.
Getting to Know the Structure of Comets
Comet is a unique celestial body. They have an elongated part that looks like a tail.
The comet-forming matter is the dust of the universe that sticks together because it freezes. When near the sun, the comet’s particles will evaporate to the head and tail of the comet.
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The comet’s orbit is also not like that planet as well as satellites. Most comets have parabolic orbits. Even so, there are some whose orbits are elliptical.
Comets occasionally pass through Earth so that they can be seen by humans. When the position is near the Earth, we can observe parts of the comet.
Here’s an interesting part of the comet’s structure.
Comet Head
This section consists of a core and a comma. The head of the comet also becomes the lighter part of the entire body. The diameter of the head of a comet can reach more than 65,000 km.
- Comet Core
The first part is the comet’s core. The core is the densest part of the comet. The diameter of the core can reach several kilometers.
Of course, the magnitude of the nucleus will be different for each comet. Comet cores are made from the evaporation of icy matter which is very volatile into gas and looks glowing.
- Comet Coma
The second part of the comet’s head structure is the comma. This area is full of fog so that it is like a veil that covers the core of a comet.
More than that, this area is also quite dense because it is exposed to steam from the core which will be increasingly steaming if it is close to the Sun.
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Around the coma there is actually a layer that covers it. The layer consists of hydrogen.
That is why this layer cannot be seen by the human eye even though it has very thick clouds. The thickness of the hydrogen layer clouds can even reach 20 million kilometers.
Comet Tail
After the head, the next part of the comet’s structure is the tail. The tail of a comet has an elongated shape.
The comet’s tail is made of glowing gas and will appear when the comet is close to the Sun. In other words, a tail will form when it burns the heat that the Sun emits.
The size of the comet’s tail is also of course different, it can even reach more than ten kilometers.
Comet Sighting from Earth
Because comets also orbit the Sun, this one celestial object can be close to Earth.
The appearance of the comet’s structure will be clearly visible from Earth as it passes through the Sun. The occurrence of apparently commentary trajectories has also occurred repeatedly in human history.
One of the most legendary comet sightings occurred in 1705. Halley estimates that the comet has also been seen in 1531, 1607, and 1682.
Halley predicted that the comet would be seen again in 1758. It was in the appearance of the comet that Edmund Halley knew that it was this comet that was named Halley’s comet.
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The average period of the appearance of the orbit of Comet Halley is 76 to 79 years. Halley’s comet was last seen in 1986.
The core or center of Halley’s comet structure has a size of about 18 x 8 x 8 kilometers. Some researchers also believe that the comet’s core is very dark.
If Halley’s comet orbit calculation is correct, the universe’s snow will appear again from Earth in 2061.
You need to know that Halley’s comet is only one of many thousands of them in universe. The size of the comet and the orbital mass also vary. Comets can have the longest orbital time spans of up to 200 years.
Although it can be seen from Earth with the naked eye, it still requires sophisticated tools in the form of a space telescope to get a clearer picture of the comet’s structure. Comet images are useful for research and documentation. (R10 / HR-Online / Editor-Ndu)
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