AST-260advanced

Comets & Cometary Activity: Advanced Connections

Comets are ice-rich small bodies that become active when approaching the Sun. Comets preserve primitive material from cold outer regions of the early Solar System and connect the Kuiper belt and Oort cloud to the inner Solar System.

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Comets & Cometary Activity: Advanced Connections

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AST-259Comets & Cometary Activity: Observation, Measurement & Evidence→

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AST-261Kuiper Belt Objects: Foundations→

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Comets are ice-rich small bodies that become active when approaching the Sun.

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As the nucleus warms, volatile molecules sublimate and drag dust from the surface.

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Spacecraft such as Giotto, Deep Impact, Stardust, and Rosetta have imaged nuclei directly and sampled comet material.