"Comets are made from material left over when star systems form. In the solar system, that means dust and ice which dates back 4.6bn years. At the heart of a comet is a central, solid nucleus, or dirty snowball, made of frozen water, dust and volatile substances such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane and ammonia. When a comet nears the sun, the heat sublimates the surface ice into gas, producing a temporary atmosphere or coma around the nucleus."
"The dust and gas released make the comet look fuzzy and produce the tails that can stretch for millions of kilometres. Comets have two tails. One is white and formed by the dust billowing off the comet, the other is bluish and made from electrically charged molecules, or ions. The ion tail points directly away from the sun, regardless of the comet's position."
Comets consist of primordial dust and ices formed during star system formation, containing water, dust and volatiles such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane and ammonia. A comet's central solid nucleus sublimates when heated by the sun, producing a coma and releasing dust and gas. Released material creates two distinct tails: a white dust tail that trails the orbit and a bluish ion tail of electrically charged molecules that points directly away from the sun. Interstellar comets originate in other star systems and can be sent into the solar system by gravitational encounters. Three interstellar comets have been recorded: 1I/Oumuamua (2017), 2I/Borisov (2019) and 3I/Atlas (reported in July).
Read at www.theguardian.com
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