COMETS

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COMETS
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WHAT EXACTLY ARE COMETS?

• "Long-Haired Stars"
• Literally cosmic icebergs
• A piece of ice, dust, rocky particles
• A few kilometres wide

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Anatomy of A Comet

• The Nucleus
• The Coma
• Hydrogen
• Cloud
• The Tail

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The Special Telescope

• Called a Comet Seeker
• Built about 1900

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To the ancient Greeks...

• "hairy stars
• unique role in culture and science
• observation of comets began 500
• years ago.

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Origins of Comets
Origins of Comets

• The Oort Cloud

• Dirty snowballs

• A vast cloud of ice and dust

• The real origin of comets is still highly
  uncertain.

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Catching Comets
Meteor Showers

• The effects of Earths atmosphere
• The Leonid Meteor Shower of 1966

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THANKS ANY QUESTIONS ?