Create account Log in

What Causes a Comet to Shine Brightly?

Comets shine because they get warm when they go near the sun. Imagine you're wearing a cloak made of ice and dirt, that's what a comet is like. When it gets close to the sun, the ice starts to melt and turns into gas, which creates a glowing tail that we can see from Earth.

Test your understanding →

Examples

  1. A comet looks like it's wearing a glowing cloak as it moves near the sun.
  2. It’s like a snowball melting and catching fire in the sunlight.
  3. When it gets warm, the comet lights up the sky like a giant fireworks show.

See also

Discussion

Comments (0)

Categories: Space · comet· space phenomena· solar system · Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.