When were comets discovered? 

We found out comets existed in about 2500 B.C. Six or seven comets are discovered every year. That is only an average, though. For example, in 1931 there was only one new comet discovered, but in 1948 there were up to thirteen new comets discovered.

What are comets made of from the head to tail? 

Astronomers think that the nucleus of a comet is made up of a large number of small, solid bodies. A shared force loosely holds the bodies together. That means there is so much gravity it holds the bodies together.

Dust particles and gas is exactly what a comet’s tail is made of. So, if a different comet came and hit the tail, would it demolish? You might be surprised, but no. Seeing as the tail is dust particles, it would just fall back to where its normal place was, before the other comet hit it.

So exactly how long can a comet’s tail get? 

Some comets don’t even have tails. But for those who do, the tail can be the most exciting part because that is what adds the color. The tail is what most people notice. The longest tail recorded is two hundred million miles long. The comet that scored this length is called the Great Comet of 1843.

Another famous comet is the Hyakutake comet. This comet is famous because of its origin. Most comets come from the Oort Cloud, an immeasurable cloud of dust, rock, and ice that surrounds our solar system like a halo. The Hyakutake comet didn’t come from the Oort Cloud. Astronomers believe it perhaps came from a similar cloud around another star system.

Can a comet have two tails but pointing in opposite directions? 

A comet can have more than one tail and the two tails point in opposite directions. In November 1956, two Belgian astronomers spotted Comet Arend-Ronald. In April 1957, it appeared very strange. It appeared to have two tails pointing in opposite directions! This was very unusual. A comet’s tail normally points away from the Sun because of the solar pressure. This comet’s tail was pointing away from the Sun, but it was also pointing straight toward the Sun, too! Scientists later realized that the tail could only stay like that for so long, and then it would turn back to normal. Scientists think the comet had two tails because dust particles got in the way of the comet’s orbit.

Do Comet's Disintegrate?

Comets do disintegrate. When a comet goes near the sun, it causes a tremendous strain. When this happens, it disintegrates. Sometimes, when it comes close to the Sun, the nucleus splits up into different parts. When that happens, it forms into other comets. For example, the Great Comet went within 200,000 miles of the Sun and the nucleus split into four parts and turned into four different comets.

Comets are interesting and fascinating. The tails are made out of gas and dust particles while the head is made out of small bodies. The comets can disintegrate and split up into different comets and the tail of a comet is made up of gas and dust particles. Scientists keep on learning more about comets every year.