Short-Lived Comets!

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Have you ever seen a comet? They’re rare, but they’re beautiful. The iconic feature of a comet is a long, glowing tail. What causes that?

Well, a comet is basically a ball of gas and dust. Now as it passes close to the sun, solar radiation blasts away part of the comet. It leaves a beautiful tail behind it. So every time the comet passes close to the sun, it gets smaller.

Now, of course, that means comets don’t last forever! And yet we still have plenty of comets. That’s a problem in the evolutionary view of millions of years. So they propose a cloud way out past Pluto that creates these comets—but there’s just no evidence for it!

Dig Deeper

• Short-Lived Comets
• Feedback: Assuming the Origin of Comets