The comets tag has no wiki summary.
0
votes
2answers
23 views
Ways to spot a comet or asteroid?
How do we spot a comet or asteroid if it does not emit light or pass infront of an object which emits light?
And if such an object would be on a crash course with our planet how early would we be ...
0
votes
1answer
54 views
List of all past comet passes and area it was visible?
Is there a database/website which shows all comets which have passed Earth and have been viewed? Is there any country specific viewing database as well?
I would like to do a search on the lines of : ...
5
votes
1answer
103 views
What is the likelihood of a long-period comet impact?
I always see lots of information about asteroid impacts, but very little is said about comet impacts. As I see, a long period comet impact is much more dangerous because a) we wouldn't have time to ...
3
votes
1answer
73 views
Are comets known to exist in other star systems?
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 ...
5
votes
1answer
114 views
How close does a meteorite have to be in order to be heard by the human ear?
...speaking of Perseid meteor showers...How close would a Perseid meteorite have to be in order to be heard by the human ear? Is it even possible to hear a Perseid meteorite? If they come close ...
8
votes
1answer
42 views
Why does the debris from comets and former comets hang around so long?
So tonight's Quatrantids shower got me thinking. Why does the debris from comets and former comets hang around so long? Each year the earth sweeps through the region of space that the comet went ...
1
vote
2answers
21 views
Which direction before dawn to look for Comet Lovejoy (C/2011 W3)? [closed]
Various websites today are reporting with photos and videos of Comet Lovejoy. However, I can't seem to find a definition of which direction to look for it tomorrow morning. I'm in Christchurch, New ...
7
votes
1answer
484 views
What are the facts that allow accepting the Oort cloud theory?
I admit without any fact that the Oort cloud (comet reservoir) should exist, and it seems to be accepted by far by the large majority of astronomers.
But it is still a theory without any direct ...
6
votes
2answers
29 views
Why doesn't a close comet like Elenin look like other, famous comets (Hale Bopp, Halley…), which have nice, long trails?
Elenin is a comet that runs very close to the Earth (0.8 times the Earth-Moon separation at its closest point). By naked-eye observation, it doesn't look like the other famous comets (Hale Bopp, ...
6
votes
4answers
2k views
Comet versus asteroids versus meteors
What are the differences between Comet versus asteroids versus meteors in practical terms?
6
votes
1answer
54 views
What conditions should an asteroid or comet impact need to meet in order to start an impact winter?
Is there a way to calculate if an impact from a given asteroid (say 5 miles in diameter, solid rock to which we know the mass) would start an impact winter? If yes, I would like to see a real example ...
7
votes
1answer
140 views
Could two colliding comets near Earth cause devastation?
Let's say two comets crashed into each other. If it was 0.1 AU away from the Earth, would the collision cause mass destruction here, or not affect us at all?
2
votes
2answers
150 views
Why can't you see meteors, but you can see comets from the moon?
Why can't you see meteors from the moon and why can you see comets?
11
votes
1answer
3k views
How does a comet form?
As the title explains,
How does a comet form?
What are the elements, what is a comet composed of?
Why didn't they become part of planets, moons or asteroids?
