Comets

Short-period comets are defined as comets with an orbit period less than ____________

200 years

The "ion tail", produced by the solar wind acting on ionized gas, points ____________

Away from the Sun

The dust stream from a comet points ____________

Behind the comet in its orbit

What is the gaseous cloud around a comet called?

Coma

On the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the Norman Invasion, which comet is shown?

Comet Hailey

Comets, being composed of frozen gases, rocks, gravel and dust are often called ____________

Dirty Snowballs

In the past, because comets look fuzzy, they have been called ____________

Hairy Stars

Which comet appeared incredibly bright and gorgeous in 1997?

Hale-Bopp

Unlike asteroids, which are mostly rock, comets are a more balanced mixture of ________ and _________

Ice, Rock

Which word best describes the surface of comets?

Inhomogeneous

What gas molecules emitted by a comet lose electrons, they are said to be ____________

Ionized (charged)

Which king, in 1066, considered the siting of a comet as a good omen?

King William 1 (William the Conqueror)

The solid part of a comets is called the ____________

Nucleus

Which European mission studied a young comet that looked like a "cosmic rubber ducky"?

Rosetta

The process of ice turning directly into a gas is called ____________

Sublimation

As comets progress through their elliptical orbits that are heated mostly by ____________

The sun