SOLAR SYSTEM

Detailed explanation-1: -When a comet gets close to the Sun, part of the ice starts to melt. The solar winds then push the dust and gas released by the melting ice away from the comet. This forms the comet’s tail. Every time a comet comes close to the Sun, a part of it melts.

Detailed explanation-2: -When comets come near the Sun, their tails become visible because heat from the Sun vaporizes some of the icy nucleus or head and sunlight reflects from the vapor. Solar wind pushes the vapor in a direction away from the Sun to form the comet’s tail.

Detailed explanation-3: -Sungrazing comets are a special class of comets that come very close to the sun at their nearest approach, a point called perihelion. To be considered a sungrazer, a comet needs to get within about 850, 000 miles from the sun at perihelion.

Detailed explanation-4: -Comets do not melt in the strict sense of becoming liquid. However, since they are composed partly of ice and other volatile compounds, they vaporize (turn directly to gas) when warmed in the vacuum of space by passing near the sun. It is this escaping gas that forms the comet’s luminous tail.

Detailed explanation-5: -When comets approach the Sun, some of their ices melt. This causes another notable difference between asteroids and comets: comets have “tails” while asteroids generally don’t.