The real question: Comets are small bodies, a 20 miles diameter is considered a big one. When one of these bodies approaches the sun, the material sourrounding the body is proyected into space due to the solar wind, displaying a tail that can be millions of miles long. When the comet moves away from the sun it seems to recover the material what is said consists of dust and gas. How can a so small body have a gravity so intense to pull so light particles from millons of miles away back to its surface?
2006-07-15 08:49:21 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Comets do not recover material from the tail after each pass near the Sun. That material is lost to the Comet forever. After a large number of passes, the comet is "burnt out". That is, it has lost all the volatile material that it has and no longer develops a tail. Some asteroids are believed to be burnt out comets.
2006-07-15 09:18:17 · answer #1 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 5⤊ 1⤋
Yes.. they do have admospheres but not like the earth.. the moons of Venus, etc.Studies of the neutral comet atmosphere, or coma, have enabled Laboratory scientists to understand various aspects of the abundances of gases, their dynamics, photochemistry and production rates from the nucleus. More data on this is being developed (supposedly) each time space probes are made.
One must understand that comets occupy a unique position in our solar system since they are the least processed material remaining from its origin four and one half billion years ago. The study of cometary atmospheres and ionospheres has advanced in recent years, so that the modeling of various atmospheric phenomena, which is required for data analysis, involves large- scale multi-dimensional gas-dynamic, gas-kinetic, and magnetohydrodynamic models.
2006-07-15 17:29:20 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Comets do NOT reaquire any significant amount of the material that's been boiled off by the solar wind. I'd be interested in knowing where you got that idea.
2006-07-15 15:58:23 · answer #3 · answered by Chug-a-Lug 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Perhaps some comets pass the remains of dead stars and get their material back from that source. Of course, I know nothing of this and am just applying common sesnse...
2006-07-15 17:15:49 · answer #4 · answered by The One JB 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋