What Causes a ‘Comet’ to Shine So Brightly?

Comets shine because they are covered in ice, and the sun warms them up. When a comet gets close to the sun, it starts to melt, and tiny pieces of ice come off like sparkles from a glittery ball, these sparkles reflect sunlight and make the comet glow brightly. The more ice a comet has, the brighter it shines.

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The ice on the comet starts to melt when it gets close to the sun, like when you take an ice cube out of the freezer and it begins to drip.
Tiny pieces of ice from the comet act like glitter in the sunlight, making the comet look bright.
When the comet is far away, it’s just a faint dot; but as it gets closer, it starts to glow like a lantern.

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Categories: Space · comet,space objects,astronomy