Comets

• Comets are small pieces of ice and dust that orbit around the Sun, but their paths are not like those of the planets.
• Most comets spend much of their time out of the Solar System, beyond Pluto. However, they can enter new orbits that bring them into the Solar System where they become visible from earth.
• The most famous comet is called Halley’s comet which returns to the center of the Solar System every seventy-six years.
• Every comet has a head and a long tail. The small solid part at the center of the head is called the nucleus.
• The nucleus contains ice and the heat of the Sun causes the ice to melt and give out gas and dust.
• The gas and dust given out from the head of the comet forms the tail. The gas gives out light.
• The tail of the comet always points away from the sun.