Comet

dust samples from the coma of comet wild 2 and comet and interstellar dust for analysis in Earth labs and to return as many high-resolution images of the comet coma and nucleus as possible. Comets are small, frozen and icy bodies that when passing by the sun, warm up and begin to release gases. This releasing of gases often form the visible part of the comet, the coma, which is simply the enveloped gases around the nucleus of the comet, which is the central part of a comet composed of rock, dust, and

There are several different theories that scientists have about how comets develop and where they come from. There are thousands of comets that have been recognized and actually registered and made official. Scientists think that most of them, including Halley's Comet, came from the Oort Cloud in space that is on the edge of the solar system and contains millions of comets. Supposedly the comets all go around in a very slow circle in the Oort Cloud unless they pass close enough to a star to be pulled

on comets. I settled upon comets because comets have always intrigued me and I have never really known the full extent of them. I have known that comets come across the Earth with their spectacular light but I have never really known the whole story behind them such as how they come across the Earth, the specialty of them, and how there is light coming from them. After researching extensively, I have learned a great deal about them such as their origins, where they form, and also what comets were

Comets In the distant past, people were both awed and alarmed by comets, perceiving them as long-haired stars that appeared in the sky unannounced and unpredictably. Chinese astronomers kept extensive records for centuries, including illustrations of characteristic types of comet tails, times of cometary appearances and disappearances, and celestial positions. These historic comet annals have proven to be a valuable resource for later astronomers. We now know that comets are leftovers from the dawn

The interplanetary dust grain population mainly originates in the main asteroid belt that is located between 2 to 4 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun. Dust forms in collisions between bodies of different sizes and energies or may be carried in by comets. 10 % of the dust formed by collisions in this area is transported towards the Sun via the Poynting-Robertson drag. The remaining 90 % leave the solar system hyperbolic orbits as newly formed interstellar dust. Dust grain orbits are mainly influenced

she had stopped dreaming a long time ago, it was unusual for her to dream in the first place let alone about a comet. What’s more, she was riding on the glowing blue comet as it swept past the Sun and Earth at a dizzying speed. With her arms outstretched, she felt like a fearless giddy surfer on a once in a lifetime, giant wave. Then, just as it had materialized out of nowhere, the comet vanished into a thick cloud of dust beyond the edge of the Solar System, blazing an iridescent blue trail in

Wesley and Shevalev 541). These robotic missions have been triggered by the human desire to know and understand the Cosmos. Currently, there are various spacecraft missions who are exploring the planets such as Mars, Saturn, asteroids as well as comets among others. Unlike missions carried out by human beings, the robotic missions are fully carried out by space robots which have varying shapes and sizes as well different functionalities which may include, the planetary flyby such as the voyageurs

Chasing Halley’s Comet Halley’s Comet crosses the Earth’s skies every 75 years. Samuel Clemens just so happened to be born following Halley’s comet, and in 1909, he predicted that he would go with Halley’s comet the next year. Clemens stated, “I came in with Halley’s Comet in 1835. Halley’s comet will be coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it” (Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) - Historic Missourians, n.d.). On April 21, 1910, one of the world’s most influential writers died

It has always been a worry of researchers that at any moment an asteroid may hit Earth and cause significant damage. Only recently (the past hundred years or so) have people been able to make equipment powerful enough to detect asteroids coming toward Earth and orbiting Earth. This is a very important step in preventing damage to our fragile planet. One of the first asteroids orbiting Earth discovered was 1 Ceres by Piazzi in 1801 (Gehrels, 1999). Since all of the asteroids back in the 1800’s

The comet assay, also known as Single Cell Gel Electrophoresis, is a method to determine the amount of DNA damage in a single cell. This assay is used for a wide range of applications, such as DNA damage and repair studies, genetic toxicology testing, and biomonitoring and nutritional research. The comet assay is a versatile technique for detecting DNA damage within a single cell. This damage is usually single-strand or double-strand breaks. Single cells are suspended in agarose and the damaged DNA