Acometis an icysmall Solar System bodythat, when passing close to theSun, heats up and begins tooutgas, displaying a visible atmosphere orcoma, and sometimes also atail. These phenomena are due to the effects ofsolar radiationand thesolar windupon the nucleus of the comet.Comet nucleirange from a few hundred metres to tens of kilometres across and are composed of loose collections of ice, dust, and small rocky particles. The coma and tail are much larger and, if sufficiently bright, may be seen from the Earth without the aid of a telescope. Comets have been observed and recorded since ancient times by many cultures.
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