Why do comets have tails? What is the process of tail formation in space object?
Comets are one of the celestial bodies that have a unique shape. These include the dust, rock and ice that revolve around the Sun.
Many people call this comet a tail star because of its shape. They have an elongated back that looks like a tail.
comet’s tail
Comets are celestial bodies whose existence can be seen from Earth if they are near the Sun. Comets also always revolve around the Sun like the planets.
However, comets have a trajectory that makes them take longer.
Linguistically, the word comet comes from the Greek, meaning comet Which means long hair. The term is actually meant to describe the shape of a celestial body with a tail or hair on its back.
This celestial body is also known as the tail star. Comets are remnants of the formation of the Solar System that occurred about 4.6 billion years ago.
However, do comets actually have tails? The tails of comets are actually visible as they move closer and closer to the Sun.
The tail of the comet will be visible due to the gravity of the Sun. The comet, which is made of ice, will heat up as the temperature of the comet rises.
The rise in temperature eventually causes the ice to melt, forming a gas. The gas, combined with the dust, forms a tail behind the comet’s body.
Therefore, comets look like they have a tail until they find a tailed star.
The shapes of comet tails are very diverse
The position of a comet with the Sun greatly affects the existence of its tail. The reason for the tail of a comet is the gravity of the Sun.
The shape of a comet’s tail also varies greatly depending on the size of its body. There are some comets that are as big as planets.
However, this size will also get smaller as it gets closer to the Sun. In contrast, at this stage the tail of the comet may extend up to a million kilometers.
types of comets
On the basis of the position of their orbit, comets are divided into two types, namely short-period comets and long-period comets.
Short-period comets are those that orbit around the Kuiper Belt. The Kuiper Belt is an asteroid belt that lies beyond the orbit of the planet Neptune.
Short-period comets take less than 200 years to orbit the Sun once.
Whereas long-period comets are those which orbit in the Oort cloud. This Oort cloud is located 50 times from the Sun up to the Kuiper Belt around Neptune.
Long-period comets have very long orbits. Long-period comets can take up to 250,000 years or more to orbit the Sun once.
Well, this is why comets have tails. Basically, a comet’s tail will form due to the process of sublimation from ice into gas.
