Are comets a feature unique to our Solar System? Or, are comets/cometary clouds detected around discovered/observed extra-solar systems too? If they were detected elsewhere, how do such cometary clouds affect discovery by perturbation of planets in that system ?
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It is unlikely that comets are a feature unique to our Solar System. Since comets are simply remnants of star and planetary formation, then anywhere stars and planets have formed would be fertile ground to expect comets. Their individual masses are relatively very small compared to discovered planets. For example, Halley's Comet has a mass of roughly $2.2\times10^{14} kg$ compared to roughly $6\times10^{24} kg$ for the Earth. That's a factor of 30 billion times smaller... so it is also unlikely that the same techniques used to discover Earth-sized or larger planets would find comets, too. However, although they're not likely to be detected, given their prevalence in our planetary system, and given that they form from natural processes, and given observational evidence of other planetary systems, it is not unreasonable to infer their existence in other systems. |
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