If their is no friction in space why do comets leave a trail.?

Answer 1

Friction is the result of a force between two masses. Air friction applies a force in a vector opposite that of a planes' passage; friction on the ground is why we can turn a corner, and why a lack of friction is dangerous on the road.

In space, as long as there are no particles in the path of comet (or planet, or astronaut), they'll experience no resistive force in their motion. However, the sun spits out 'solar wind' - particles of protons, neutrons, and electrons, in addition to photons which also carry force - and impact all objects within sight of it.

A comet is made up of a large portion of water and frozen gas. As it nears the sun, this heats up, and the gas & water form little jets of material as it boils off the comet. This very light weight material is then subjected to the solar wind, and is slowed in it's motion with the comet - forming a tail *behind* the head of the comet. The nearer to the sun the comet gets, the more particles are out-gassed, and the more intense the solar wind. As the comet swings around the sun, the tail is continually pushed away from the sun, so the tail will precede the comet's head as it flys back away from the sun, and the out-gassing slows because the amount of heat & light from the sun decreases as it's distance to the sun increases.

Eventually, the comet is just a (somewhat smaller) collection of water & gasses & rock, back out in the cold of deep space.

Answer 2

A comet's tail has nothing to do with friction or the lack of it. When a comet approaches the sun, the "solar wind," or force created by the flow of photons and other particles radially outward from the sun pushes some of the gaseous material off the head of the comet and into space in the direction opposite to the direction to the sun.

Because of the heat of the sun, the gasses are luminous. If you will study this, you will find that the tail of a comet is always pointed away from the sun.

For much more information including pictures and diagrams, try an internet search on "comet" or "comet tail."

Answer 3

Comets leave a tail due to heating from the sun. A comet is like a big slush ball wrapped around a rock. As the comet gets closer to teh sun, the sunlight hitting the comet heats up the "slush" which then turns into gas and is blown off the comet in the direction the the light from the sun is traveling. The tail always points away from the sun, even when the comet is on its outbound leg of its orbit. The process is energetic enough to carry off dust and other particles that may be on the comet, as well as ice particles. That is why you can see reflected sunlight from the tail.

Answer 4

Because they're shedding part of their own matter. Most comets are made up of ice and dust - they're more or less dirty slushballs. As they get closer to the sun, the heat from the sun melts some of the ice, and they start shedding some of that dust and water. That's what you see when you see the comet's tail. After enough passes, the comet will pretty much dissipate away to nothing.

Answer 5

There actually is friction of a sort.
The heat of the sun as a comet approaches heats up the volatile ices (water and other ices) on and in the comet, and this "steam" liberates dust particles from the comet itself.
The solar wind - a wind of charged particles blown out from the sun - then "blows" that dust and other particles out from the comet away from the sun. If the particles from the comet are ionized, then the magnetic field of the solar wind can cause 2 different tails - one of the dust and another of the charged particles interacting with the magnetic field of the wind.

Answer 6

Who said there is no friction in space? Of course there is. The tail of a comet is caused by the solar wind.

Answer 7

There are tiny particles given off by the sun. Even light particles "photons" have a tiny bit of inertia, and thus press a tiny amount of force on all objects. The effect is tiny, but when you compare tiny to zero, it is significant. There is friction in space, just a much smaller amount than we are used to in every day life.

Answer 8

It's stuff falling off as the comet heats up while approaching stars.

Answer 9

i dont no im not thatt smart