How many of us have looked at the sky and seen a rapidly moving point leaving a trail behind it, which leads us to the famous belief of making a wish with all our heart, hoping that it will come true? Well, perhaps the vast majority of us make a wish to the comets that pass by grazing the outermost layers of our atmosphere, but do you know what the wish is? origin of comets?
Like everything that man has tried to explain since the dark ages, in most cases it had no scientific basis, so comets are not escaped from that unreality, to the point that today they remain a wish-fulfilling fable that you are lucky enough to see from time to time in the sky, before disappearing after igniting or evaporating, in most cases. If you want to know more about these phenomena, we recommend consulting the abstract of kites in the sky.
starting from this mythical state Of these fast-moving celestial bodies about which we know more details from urban tales than from scientists, do you know the origin of comets?
Let's start with knowing what a comet is
They have their origin in two fundamental places
Comets are fast celestial bodies made up of ice, dust and rocks that orbit around our Solar star, drawing different trajectories in an elliptical, parabolic or hyperbolic way. These speedsters from space, along with asteroids, planets and satellites, are part of the solar system as we know it today. The composition of comets can provide information about the origin of water on Earth.
Most of these celestial bodies describe large elliptical orbits, which produces their approach to the Sun with a considerable period of time and they are gaining momentum and speed. Comets can reach diameters of several tens of kilometers and are composed of water, dry ice, ammonia, methane, iron, magnesium, sodium, and silicates. According to studies, this composition can provide information about the .
Due to these substances that make up comets, some experts and NASA scientists They claim that this organic matter that covers comets is the ignition spark required for the genesis of life as such, which is why it is believed that a comet collision millions of years ago gave rise to life on planet Earth.
They are composed of organic matter, basic for life.
From our home planet, we can see these celestial bodies streaking through space. These comets display a distinct shape determined by their internal composition; when approaching the sun, The nucleus heats up and the ice sublimates, converting directly to a gaseous state. The gases of the comets are projected backward, which causes the formation of the tail pointing away from the Sun and extending millions of kilometers, which can be observed from Earth. If you're interested in understanding why comets shine, you can learn more about it in this article. link.
Astronomers and scientists state that comets contain, in the form of ice and dust, the composition of the primitive nebula that gave rise to the Solar System and from which they concentrated and unified then the planets and their moons. In this sense, the study of comets is of great importance and can provide clues to the characteristics of that primordial cloud that gave rise to the universe as we know it. In addition, you can learn more about the different types of kites and their characteristics.
How did comets originate in our universe?
Comets basically come, according to studies, from two places in particular, one of them the cloud of Oort, situated between 50.000 and 100.000 AU from the Sun, and the Kuiper Belt, located beyond the boundary of the orbit of the planet Neptune in our solar system. For a broader view, you can read about where do comets originate.
The Oort Cloud is considered, according to NASA, to be the place of origin of long-lived and long-trajectory comets. This cloud consists of condensation debris from the solar nebulaComets originating in this cloud describe such an elliptical trajectory that thousands of years could pass before being noticed again, and they gain momentum outside the planetary system as they pass by the Sun.
Thus, the orbits of comets are constantly changing: their origins are in the outer solar system and they tend to be highly distorted in terms of orbit, due to their close approaches to the major planets. some are moved to very close orbits around the Sun and are destroyed when they approach the star, however, others are sent out of the solar system forever or wait for another solar star to return them to their previous course.
On the other hand, the origin of short-period comets, such as Gerard Kuiper, proposed the existence of a belt of comets located beyond the orbit described by Neptune, other comets like Kuiper He assumed that Pluto's mass would alter the orbit of these small bodies, pushing them further into the Solar System. Knowing more about their characteristics is important, so you can also see kites and their characteristics.
These are some of the comets that orbit in our solar system
Some of these comets may never be seen again
The Great Comet of 1577
Or known by its official name as: C/1577 V1This was a comet that passed close to Earth during the year 1577, hence its name. This celestial body was seen by many inhabitants of Europe, including the famous Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. For more information on celestial bodies, you can consult mysteries of space.
The Great Comet of 1744
Or known by its official name as: C/1743 X1, is also popular by the name: the Chéseaux's Comet or Comet Klinkenberg-Chéseaux. This comet is one of the most spectacular
celestial bodies that have been observed, took place in the sky during 1743 and 1744. It was discovered separately by Jan de Munck, during the second week of December by Dirk Klinkenberg and, four days later, by Jean-Philippe de Chéseaux.
The Great Comet of 1811
Or known by its official name as C/1811 F1, was visible to the naked eye for approximately 260 days, one of the longest periods in the history of comets. It was classified as a big kite, for its magnificence; its passage caused a stir, without coming too close to the Earth or the Sun, but it had an extraordinarily active nucleus.
Comet Biela or 3D/Biela
This comet owes its name to the Australian astronomer Wilhelm von Biela, who calculated in 1826 the orbit that this celestial body described, although it had already been sighted years before in 1772 and 1805. After suffering a fracture into two fragments, it disintegrated in 1852. If you are interested in learning more about these phenomena, check out the comets approaching Earth.
The Hale-Bopp comet
Or known under its official name as: C/1995 O1This comet was probably one of the longest-observed comets of the 18th century and one of the brightest observed in space for many years. It could be seen with the naked eye for 1811 months, almost twice as long as the Great Comet of XNUMX.
Comet Kohoutek
Or better known by its official name as: C/1973 E1, 1973 XIIThis comet can be classified as a long-period comet. It was discovered by Czech astronomer Luboš Kohoutek in 1973, and was visible for much of that year. Scientists say it will return to Earth in approximately 10 years, although some astronomers speculate that it will return in a longer period, such as 9 to 16 years.
