Comets - Science@NASA Introduction Comets are cosmic snowballs of frozen gases, rock, and dust that orbit the Sun When frozen, they are the size of a small town When a comet's orbit brings it close to the Sun, it heats up and spews dust and gases into a giant glowing head larger than most planets
Comet Facts - Science@NASA Comets are leftovers from the dawn of our solar system around 4 6 billion years ago, and consist mostly of ice coated with dark organic material They have been referred to as "dirty snowballs "
Comets Poster - Version A - Science@NASA Version A of the comets installment of our solar system poster series The posters are best printed on 11x17 paper Several download options are available below There are three iterations of this poster: Version A (this one), Version B and Version C Download the full set of solar system posters
Asteroids, Comet, and Meteors - Science@NASA Asteroids, comets, and meteors are chunks of rock, ice, and metal left over from the formation of our solar system about 4 6 billion years ago
Comet 2I Borisov - Science@NASA Comet 2I Borisov is the first confirmed interstellar comet It was discovered by Crimean amateur astronomer Gennady Borisov on Aug 30, 2019
Stardust Stardust NExT - Science@NASA Firsts Stardust was the first spacecraft to bring samples from a comet to Earth Key Dates Feb 7, 1999: Launch Feb 22 to May 1, 2000: First interstellar dust collection operation was carried out Jan 15, 2001: Stardust flew by Earth for a gravity assist Nov 2, 2002: Stardust flew by asteroid 5535 Annefrank Jan 2, 2004: Closest encounter with Comet Wild 2 (or 81P Wild)
2P Encke - Science@NASA Discovery Comet 2P Encke was first discovered by Pierre F A Mechain on Jan 17, 1786 Other astronomers located this comet in subsequent passages, but these sightings were not defined as the same comet until Johann Franz Encke calculated its orbit
Asteroid Facts - Science@NASA Most asteroids can be found orbiting our Sun between Mars and Jupiter within the main asteroid belt Asteroids range in size from Vesta – the largest asteroid at about 329 miles (530 kilometers) in diameter – to bodies that are less than 33 feet (10 meters) across The total mass of all the asteroids combined is less than that of Earth's Moon
NASA-Led Team Links Comet Water to Earth’s Oceans While the case connecting asteroid water to Earth’s is strong, the role of comets has puzzled scientists Several measurements of Jupiter-family comets — which contain primitive material from the early solar system and are thought to have formed beyond the orbit of Saturn — showed a strong link between their water and Earth’s
9P Tempel 1 - Science@NASA Discovery Comet Tempel 1 was discovered by Ernst Wilhelm Leberecht Tempel (more commonly known as Wilhelm Tempel) on Apr 3, 1867 Overview Comet 9P Tempel 1 orbits the Sun within the asteroid belt, which lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter