| Comet characteristics |
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| • | Most
on long elliptical orbits |
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| – | Short
period comets – go to outer solar |
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| system |
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| • | “Jupiter
family” still ~ in plane of ecliptic |
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| • | “Halley
family” are highly inclined to ecliptic |
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| – | Longer
period ones go out thousands of AU |
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| • | Most
of these are highly inclined to ecliptic |
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| • | Become
active only in inner solar system |
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| – | Made
of volatile ices and dust |
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| – | Sun
heats and vaporizes ice, releasing dust |
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| – | “Dirty
snowball” model |
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