I was recently reading the September-October 2024 issue of Science Scope, a journal published by the National Science Teaching Association.

In this issue, I read the “Scope on the Skies” section, written by Bob Riddle.  He wrote an article entitled: “Chasing Giant Ice Balls.”

Comets are frozen leftovers from the formation of the solar system composed of dust, rock, and ices.  They range in size from a few miles to tens of miles wide, but as they orbit closer to the Sun, they heat up and spew gases and dust into a glowing head that can be larger than a planet.  This material forms a tail that stretches millions of miles.