This is a drawing of what a comet might look like flying through space.
Click on image for full size
Dr. Micheal Belton
The Tumbling of the Comet Nucleus
As the comet approaches the sun, during its passage through space it will rotate, spin, and tumble. The motion of the comet causes different sides to be exposed to the sun's warmth. The movies below show different sorts of nucleus shapes tuumbling through space as they approach the sun.
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As the ices of the comet nucleus evaporate, they expand rapidly into a large cloud around the central part of the comet. This cloud, called the coma, is the atmosphere of the comet and can extend for millions
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