Comet
A comet is a small Solar System body composed mainly of ice, dust, and organic compounds. As they approach the Sun, cometary ices sublimate, releasing gas and dust that form the glowing coma and distinctive tails—often extending millions of kilometers.
Comets originate from two primary reservoirs: the Kuiper Belt—home to short-period comets with orbits under ~200 years—and the distant Oort Cloud, which sends long-period comets with orbits spanning thousands of years. Occasionally, interstellar objects like ‘Oumuamua pass through our system, appearing comet-like.
They are “dirty snowballs” and among the most primitive remnants of the early Solar System, preserving original ices and organic material from 4.6 billion years ago.
Landmark missions include ESA’s Rosetta—with its lander Philae—which orbited and sampled Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko (2014–2016). NASA’s Deep Impact struck Comet Tempel 1 in 2005 to analyze interior composition.
These missions discovered complex organic molecules, including amino-acid precursors, and supported the theory that comets may have delivered water and prebiotic compounds to early Earth.
Looking ahead, ESA–JAXA’s Comet Interceptor (launch planned for 2029) intends to perform a rapid flyby of a dynamically new or interstellar comet, using multiple spacecraft to sample both nucleus and coma environments.
Comets are studied across the electromagnetic spectrum—from radio to gamma rays—using telescopes and spacecraft to understand composition, internal structure, activity, and their roles in planetary formation, the evolution of the solar system, and the origin of life.
Sources
APODs including "Comet"
The Perseid Meteor Shower
9 August 1996
From a radiant point in the constellation of Perseus, Comet Swift-Tuttle presents -- The Perseid Meteor Shower -- coming to your night sky this weekend! A bookish E. C. Herrick of New Haven, Connecticut correctly suspected in 1837 that this meteor shower was an annual event. Indeed it is now known to be a regular August shower caused by the yearly passage of the Earth through the orbiting debri left behind by periodic comet Swift-Tuttle. Since the bits of comet debri are moving along parallel orbits, on entering the atmosphere they leave fiery trails which appear to originate from a common radiant point in the sky, in this case in the constellation of Perseus. Dramatically illustrated in this composite video image made using MOVIE, meteors from the 1994 Perseids streak across the sky framed by the three bright stars of the asterism known as the "Summer Triangle". The image shows bright Perseids recorded that year from August 9 through 14. Here the trails appear nearly parallel as the camera was centered on the sky about 90 degrees from the radiant point. This year, European and North American observers should be able to view the shower near its maximum, about 90 meteors per hour, early Monday morning August 12, but the shower should be enjoyable on clear weekend nights (August 10,11) as well. After midnight is generally the best time for viewing. What's the best way to enjoy a meteor shower? Get a warm jacket and a comfortable lawnchair ... go outside and look up.