COMETS

Presented by Chakshu Tandon and Mike Grant

WHAT ARE THEY?

Remains of materials left over after the creation of the universe

Mixture of frozen water, gasses, and dust

Have eccentric orbits that are highly eliptical

Thier tails can extend over 3.8 astronomical units (570 m. km)

Parts of a comet

http://www.akitarescueoftulsa.com/rosetta-comet-orbit-diagram/

They come from two locations:

KUIPER BELT

OORT CLOUD

30-35 AU

5,000 and 100,000 AU

Less than 200 years

Thousands of years

5 - 7.5 Billion Km

0.7 - 10 Trillion Km

What are they really made of?

Organic and Inorganic Matter

Carbon (C)

Hydrogen (H)

Metals (Na, K, Ca, etc.)

Building blocks left over from formation of the planets

HISTORY OF COMETS

Were considered bad omens until the 16th century.

Comet comes from the Greek word

 ( Kometes )

Halley's comet, a short-range comet, has been observed since 240 B.C. 

It is visible from Earth every 75 years.​ 

Halley's Comet as observed from Earth

http://galleryhip.com/halleys-comet.html​

HOW THEY FORM

The main theory:

SOLAR NEBULA HYPOTHESIS

Hydrogen gas cloud... Denser clumps of matter... Protoplanetary Disc... 

Comets are the smaller clumps of matter that are formed further away from the star.

Jan Oort proposed that comets reside in a huge cloud that reaches far past the solar system. 

He named the cloud of comets and icy bodies the Oort cloud.

This discovery made the Solar Nebula Theory plausible.

Gravity of the star reached to only certain parts of the Oort cloud and pulled the comets into the inner solar system.

Solar Nebular Theory

https://answersingenesis.org/astronomy/solar-system/origin-of-the-solar-system/

SOME INTERESTING FACTS

We landed on a comet recently!

THATS HUGE

http://www.space.com/27748-comet-landing-what-s-nasa-s-role-video.html

There are about 0.1 to 2 trillion comets and other celestial bodies in both the Oort Cloud and the Kuiper Belt.

The nucleus or "core" of the comet can range from 10-50 km across.

The plane of revolution of comets is not limited to  the plane of elliptic where the planets reside.

Orbit of Comet Halley in comparison to solar system 'planets'

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/comets/halley.html

Orbit of Eris, brightest comet in Kuiper Belt

https://alienspacesciencenews.wordpress.com/2014/09/13/kuiper_belt_-surrounds-earths-outer-solar-system-past-pluto-comet-eris-changing-human-dna-cells-deep-space-travel-ufo-wow-signal-ideas/

Comets were formed near the creation of the Earth and may contain evidence to the formation of the planet.

(and the beginning of life too)

4.5 +/-  0.1 billion years ago

As the comet approaches the sun, ice sublimates off of the comet's surface creating ice and dust jets.

Comet Ison releasing gas and dust via ice jets

http://astrobob.areavoices.com/2013/11/14/comet-ison-in-outburst-brightens-a-magnitude-or-more/

Bibliography

  • http://www.space.com/16144-kuiper-belt-objects.html

  • http://www.space.com/27697-rosetta-comet-landing-full-coverage.html

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mggUVLFPkQg

  • http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/explore/comets/background/

  • http://www.space.com/27748-comet-landing-what-s-nasa-s-role-video.html

  • http://rosetta.jpl.nasa.gov/science/comet-primer/what-comet

  • http://www.scienceclarified.com/scitech/Comets-and-Asteroids/How-Asteroids-and-Comets-Formed.html

  • http://hubblesite.org/reference_desk/faq/answer.php.id=17&cat=solarsystem

Q and A Time

Chakshu Tandon and Mike Grant

Presented by:

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