One thing we love most in the astronomy world is the beautiful mystery. And if there ever was a mysterious but supernatural force we see in the night sky, it is the coming of a comet.
The arrival of a comet in the Earth's orbit is a major event in the world. Witness the tremendous attention that the Haley media have had when they get to the view.
Above all, it is during this cometary moment that the astronomer emerges as a whole. But what is a comet? Where does it come from? And how do you get that beautiful tail?
We should never confuse comets with asteroids. Small asteroids in space from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. As spectacular as they are, they pale into insignificance when compared with the arrival of a comet. Asteroids have also received extensive research by the scientific community.
Not much is known about the comet. The formation of a comet is a mixture of nebulous, gas, ice, dust and space debris. One scientist referred to the formation of a comet as being like a “dirty ball” because the structure is so varied and flexible. The center or nucleus of a comet is usually relatively stable ,but the "snowball" material usually forms a "cloud" around that nucleus which may be much larger and extend longer after the comet as it travels in space. That consecutive galaxy is the source of the beautiful stargazer's tail, which makes it extremely enjoyable to watch when a comet arrives at Earth's orbit.
The origin of the comet is also a mystery. There are a number of theories as to where they came from, but apparently they originate outside our solar system, somewhere in deep space. Some have speculated that the remaining particles in the solar system are freed from any magnetic field and sent to the atmosphere to be held in place by our solar system.
One theory is that they came out of a gas cloud called the Oort cloud which cools there after a solar eclipse. As this atmosphere evaporates, it is organized into a single body and accumulates enough to attract the gravitational force of our solar system into a fast-moving comet that falls to our sun. However, because of the powerful orbit of most planets in our solar system, the comet is not in direct conflict with the sun and usually takes its own orbit.
The life span of a comet varies greatly. Scientists refer to a comet that is expected to heat or touch the sun for two hundred years as a short-lived star while the comet lives more than two hundred years. That may seem far removed from us as humans living on the earth, but in terms of stars and planets, this is a very short life span.
Scientists around the world have put together some excellent probes to learn more about the comet to help us understand these visitors from across the globe. In 1985, for example, the United States launched an investigation into the path of the comet Giacobini-Zinner that passed through the comet and collected extensive scientific knowledge about the comet. Then, in 1986, an international scientific team was able to launch an investigation that was able to fly near Haley's comet as it passed near Earth and continued its research.
Although science fiction writers and tabloid newspapers tend to warn us that a comet may affect the earth, scientists who understand the comet's rotation and what changes their paths tell us that this is not possible. That is good because some comets reach as large as the planets so that the effect is even worse. In the meantime, we can enjoy the thrill of seeing comets visit the unusual night sky and marvel at the spectacular views these foreign visitors are wearing as they appear in the sky.
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