Comet that’s the biggest and brightest will be the result of a collision
The comet object will whiz by at a great speed and could be visible as a shooting star or an asteroid. Comet ISON was originally going to be a large icy rock that came very close to our planet, however due to a massive collision it turned into a much smaller coma and comets are now known to be made mostly out of water. A recent study suggests that Comet ISON could have the largest comet in the history of the solar system; which if true, will revolutionize our understanding of how these spectacular bodies form and how they evolve.
When the biggest comet to be seen in over a century will come very near and burn up in our solar system is an event that astrology experts, space scientists, and science fiction authors have all are looking forward to. This huge space rock, known as comet ISON, is expected to break into several pieces as it whizzes by our planet. Many of you may remember this huge space rock from the 1980’s when it was first discovered. In fact, it was one of the first celestial objects to be visited by humans. Many predicted that it would become a big problem for the Earth.
You may be thinking that it is not possible for Comet ISON to make such a close shave with our planet. It will be very close, many hundreds of kilometers across, and it will be at least as wide as Halley’s Comet, which was only found to be about four hundred kilometers in width. This means that ISON could be even bigger than Halley. The largest comet ever observed will come very near and pass very close to our planet in 2031.
This prediction does not include predictions about the time or location where this largest comet will pass by, but it is something that many people who watch sky charts have hoped for.
Comet ISON was discovered during a research project to see what types of debris could be left behind by a large asteroid that smashed into the planet. A scientific paper was written by many researchers that discusses Comet size and composition. While there are a great many theories on this subject, the one that scientists agree on is that the composition of the largest comet ever observed will be primarily gas. This means that it will be made mostly out of ammonia and carbon dioxide. This is a result of comets with high temperatures and pressures.
The theory states that the comet’s nucleus is being threatened by comets with icy layers surrounding them. This will cause the ammonia and other gasses to escape into space causing the comet’s nucleus to warm up. At that point, it will begin to vaporize. Scientists believe that vaporized gases will create a great deal of friction against its surface and will cause the comet’s nucleus to push against and collapse.
Comets generally move around very quickly. It takes about six months for a comet to make an orbit around the sun. However, not all comets move at the same speed. Some move more quickly than others. Comet Hale-Bopp was the first to be widely seen by amateur astronomers within one month of formation.
So, how will you know if you have seen the largest comet ever?
You’ll have to use a telescope to look at it in your telescope. But don’t get too excited! Comets are not likely to hit the Earth too hard or make too much of a mess. But if you see something big, you should report it to the scientific community so that they can discover if it really is the largest comet in the history of the Solar System.
Finding the Largest Comet Ever Discovered
A huge, massive space rock that has been identified as a comet is now making its way around the solar system. Comet ISON is being studied by the Open Institute of Science in cooperation with the NASA Institute of Space Sciences. The International Astronomical Union is a group that was instrumental in discovering the first ever comet. Here are some details about ISON that you might find interesting:
Comet ISON is called a “cometoid” because it is composed mostly of comets and small icy grains like comets. It is not really a comet but a “space rock.” It actually got its start long before the dawn of the first solar system and survived quite a few collisions with other space debris in the past. Comet tails are essentially fuzzy icy outer layers, much like the wax coating on comets, that usually come locked onto the comet’s nucleus. These tails provide a safe place for comets to hide from the sun and from the dust, and they also serve as a cushioning shield for comets that is very fragile.
When a space rock is headed toward a star for an extended stay, the comets can be left behind as they whiz by at incredible speeds. They whiz by at hundreds of miles per second, and it takes about ten million years for one of these comets to make a journey across the entire solar system. Comet tails can often be seen as fuzzy, elongated shapes against a background of sparkling stars, when viewed through telescopes. When a comet is very near to a star, its tail may become very pronounced.
One of the major reasons that comets exist is because a great many of them contain water ice, which forms a solid chemical bond with other molecules in the comet’s outer shell. Scientists have noticed that comets travel closer to their stars than expected, and they’ve concluded that this extra material helps them to chill down. While comets are thought to travel relatively quickly through space, they do not move very fast through the dust from the outer solar system.
The comets keep collecting the dust, which is rich in gases, until they become too big to escape, and when this happens, they head back out to the edges of the solar system where they start to vaporize.
It has long been suspected that comets are alive but until recently it wasn’t possible to study them very well. Only through computer modeling and analysis has it been possible to study the composition and chemistry of comets. This new study used very sensitive instruments to confirm that a group of icy comets is alive and well, and that they are actively sending off gases into space. The calculations show that many of the unusual elements that scientists had noticed were produced by chemical reactions within the comets. This study was published in the Journal of Geology, and the observations were made using the European Space Agency’s THEMES (omedicLES), which is a probe currently operating in orbit around Jupiter.
Studying comets can also tell us a lot about the solar system. It is generally accepted that comets are mostly made of water, but this study suggests that there may be other, non-water-like compounds as well. In fact, many of the elements and compounds we find on Earth, including sulfur and phosphorous, are produced from reactions inside comets. Many scientists believe that these reactions, called exothermic reactions, are what power our planet’s weather.
The discovery of the largest comet ever discovered will most likely lead to a more detailed study of these comets and of planetary science in general. This will be very important information, because understanding comets helps us understand the formation of our solar system and the nature of the universe. It also provides a means of protecting our life from being wiped out due to a comet’s impact.
The study of comets is part of a long line of studies that will help us learn more about the origins of our solar system and the nature of the universe. Understanding the comets that we study can help us put the pieces of the puzzle together. The next step is for NASA to take a look at the data gathered by amateur astronomers who have been observing these comets for decades and determine if they hold clues to understanding the composition of the outer space environment.
Only time will tell if the results of this study will be able to help us solve some mysteries about comets and the outer space environment.
Provided by Antonio Westley
Disclaimer: This article is meant to be seen as an overview of this subject and not a reflection of viewpoints or opinions as nothing is definitive. So, make sure to do your research and feel free to use this information at your own discretion.