Author: iamdefinitory

APHELION – The point in a comet’s orbit where it is farthest from the Sun.

PERIHELION – The point in a comet’s orbit where it is closest to the Sun.

COMETARY JETS – Streams of gas and dust that erupt from a comet’s nucleus as it heats up.

SUBLIMATION – The process by which solid ice on a comet turns directly into gas as it nears the Sun.

HALLEY’S COMET – A well-known short-period comet that returns approximately every 76 years.

LONG-PERIOD COMET – A comet with an orbit that takes more than 200 years, generally originating in the Oort Cloud.

SHORT-PERIOD COMET – A comet with an orbital period of less than 200 years, typically from the Kuiper Belt.

KUIPER BELT – A region beyond Neptune filled with icy bodies, including many short-period comets.

OORT CLOUD – A distant spherical region surrounding the Solar System, believed to be the source of long-period comets.

DUST TAIL – A curved, yellowish tail formed from dust particles pushed away by sunlight.