Comets

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path around the
solar system. Scientists believe that all comets were formed of material,
originally in the outer part of the solar system, which did not become
incorporated into planets. This material is from when the planets just started
forming. This makes comets an extremely interesting topic to scientists who are
studying the history of the solar system.
In comparison to planets, comets are very small. They can be anywhere
from 750 meters (or less) to 20 kilometers in diameter. However, lately,
scientists have been finding proof that there are comets 300 kilometers in
diameter or greater.
Comets are still compared to the planets, though. Planets usually
follow the shape of a sphere. Most planets are fat at the equator. Comets come
in all different shapes and sizes. Most evidence that science has revealed says
that comets are extremely fragile. A comet is so poorly structured that it is
like a loose snowball--it can be pulled apart with one's own bare hands.
Comets ...

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It was
named Comet Halley in honor of him. A sighting of the comet was confirmed on
Christmas day 1758.
Halley predicted the date on which the comet would return using Kepler's
Third Law which states:
1. All orbits are ellipses with the sun at one focus.
2. A line between a planet and the Sun sweeps out an equal area during
any fixed interval of time (i.e. planets move quickly when they are
close to the sun)
3. (OrbitalPeriod(years))squared = (OrbitalRadius(AU))cubed
A comet that has been discovered more recently is the Hale-Bopp comet.
It is scheduled to appear in April 1997.
Alan Hale is a native New Mexican. Hale is a professional astronomer,
he ...

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