Hale-Bopp photo by Terry Platt
© DataNation
Comets
A Comet is a huge chunk of ice, rock and dust.
When it orbits the Sun, it goes far out into
the dark and cold parts of the solar system!
When it gets closer to the powerful heat of the Sun, it starts to melt and break
away.
The debris forms the comet's tail. The tail can
be up to hundreds of miles long, but on Earth it might only look like a couple of inches
long!