Why Comets Are Important - NASA Solar System Exploration
Jun 7, 2000 · What Are Comets? * Comets are small, fragile, irregularly shaped bodies composed of a mixture of grains and frozen gases. They have highly elliptical orbits that repeatedly bring them very close to the Sun and then swing them deeply into space, often beyond the orbit of …
In Depth | 1P/Halley – NASA Solar System Exploration
Comet Halley moves backward (opposite to Earth's motion) around the Sun in a plane tilted 18 degrees to that of the Earth's orbit. Halley's backward, or retrograde, motion is unusual among short-period comets, as its greatest distance from the Sun (aphelion) is …
Asteroids, Comets & Meteors - NASA Solar System Exploration
Our solar system’s small bodies – asteroids, comets, and meteors – pack big surprises. These chunks of rock, ice, and metal are leftovers from the formation of our solar system 4.6 billion years ago.
Welcome to Captain Comet's - Stardust "The Story" - NASA Solar …
Unlike other bodies, comets release matter into space, and a simple spacecraft just flying by can snatch samples without the complex landing and surface operations required for sample return missions to the Moon, Mars and asteroids.
In Depth | 2P/Encke – NASA Solar System Exploration
Comet Encke has the shortest orbital period of any known comet within our solar system. Encke last reached perihelion (closest approach to the sun) in 2015. Comet Enke is the parent comet of the Taurid meteor stream.
The Usual Suspects: a Rogues Gallery of Asteroids, Comets and …
Nov 15, 2018 · There are likely billions of potential comets in the solar system. Astronomers discover new ones all the time. Some comets spend most of their time relatively close to the Sun, completing an orbit in less than 200 years, like Halley’s …
Stardust: Returning Comet Samples to Earth - NASA Solar System …
Encountering a Comet Stereo view of Rahe, a feature that is believed to be an impact crater. On January 2, 2004, after five years in space and billions of kilometers of travel, Stardust finally reached its target for a brief but daring encounter.
Nearing 3,000 Comets: SOHO Solar Observatory Greatest Comet …
Jul 30, 2015 · In August 2015, SOHO is expected to discover its 3,000th comet. Prior to the SOHO launch, only a dozen or so comets had ever even been discovered from space, and some 900 had been discovered from the ground since 1761.
In Depth | Our Solar System - NASA Solar System Exploration
Our solar system consists of our star, the Sun, and everything bound to it by gravity – the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune; dwarf planets such as Pluto; dozens of moons; and millions of asteroids, comets, and meteoroids.
Stardust | JPL | NASA - NASA Solar System Exploration
To catch comets in space, Peter Tsou at JPL (one of the Halley team members) was determined to develop a means for what he called "intact capture". The idea was to use a "soft" capture material that would allow capture of particles without them being strongly heated.