Comets Facts for Kids
Icy space rocks that develop glowing tails when they fly close to the Sun.
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Comets Facts for Kids
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About this topic
Comets are cosmic snowballs of frozen gases, rock, and dust that orbit the Sun. When they approach the Sun, they heat up and develop a spectacular glowing tail that can stretch millions of kilometres.
Quick Facts
Key Points
Comets come from the Oort Cloud and Kuiper Belt at the edge of our solar system
The nucleus is the solid core, typically 1–15 km across
The coma is the fuzzy atmosphere around the nucleus
Ion tails always point away from the Sun due to solar wind
Halley's Comet is the most famous, visible from Earth every 75–76 years
Photos
🔬 Anatomy of a comet
A comet has three main parts: the nucleus (the solid icy core), the coma (a fuzzy cloud of gas and dust), and the tail (which can stretch millions of kilometres).
Go deeper⭐ Famous comets
Halley's Comet visits every 76 years (next in 2061). Comet Hale-Bopp was visible for 18 months in 1997. Comet NEOWISE dazzled skywatchers in 2020.
Go deeper💧 Comets and life
Some scientists believe comets brought water and organic molecules to early Earth, possibly helping to kickstart life on our planet.
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